Inspiration
by Skitty13
Summary: May's life is anything but a fairy tale, giving up on her life long dream, she continues going to high school like any average girl. When she learns that the famous pop star Drew Hayden is going to attend her school, the drama just increases, and Valentine's day is coming up. At this rate, things are going to be anything but happily ever after. Contestshipping!
1. Chapter 1

Inspiration

Chapter 1

Hi people! I'm finally back! I missed writing so much! Anyways, I have a ton of stories I've been secretly planning for a while, you probably can tell since my profile now keeps tracks of upcoming stories and updates.

So, this story based off of the movie _Another Cinderella Story,_ one of my favourites, Cinderella but with a modern day style take, I'll be using this story line and give it my own little twist and with more side plots. My summary took a while to figure out despite the simple plot, I'm really going to enjoy writing this story. :) Oh! One last thing, there isn't going to be any Pokémon in this story, I wasn't sure how to make it work... Either way, enjoy!

Shippings: Contestshipping, Ikarishipping, Pokeshipping and Frozenflowershipping (Maybe a few others... Idk...)

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any characters except for my own OCs!

* * *

One more minute.

One more minute until the school day was over. Waiting was unbearable, especially during last period. May watched the clock, willing it to go faster so she could leave. The seconds mocked her, going even slower. Mentally grumbling, May knew staring at a clock would only make it _look _slower. Seeing that the art teacher had them all clean up five minutes before the bell in silence, there was nothing to do but wait. Finally after what seemed like forever, the bell rang, signaling the dismissal for most of the students. Dawn swept in, grabbing May's books and binders for her, adding it to her own pile of stuff.

"Thanks, Dawn," May said, flashing a smile at one of her best friends. She reached over and grabbed her crutches, standing up with them aiding her balance. "Where would I be without an amazing friend like you?"

"Still stuck in the classroom?" Dawn asked, giggling as May made a face of disgust. As they walked out of the classroom, May using her crutches, they headed to their lockers to gather their stuff. As always, the hallways were crowded after school but having crutches had their advantages, people made room for May to walk.

"Are we meeting Vi today?" May asked. Somehow managing to stay balanced on her crutches, she put her books into her backpack then zipped it up. Grabbing her jacket, she pulled it on to protect herself from the chilly temperatures outside. February in Petalburg City was occasionally chilly, but this winter had been warm.

"No, she has another long distance running practice," Dawn explained. The blue haired girl checked her hair in the mirror of her locker door once again, then closed it. "Ready to go?"

"Almost." May quickly locked her locker. "Yup! Let's go!"

"You're getting your cast taken off today, right?" Dawn inquired as they started to walk down the hallway. May nodded, looking relieved at the thought. "That's great!"

"I know!" May exclaimed. Not paying attention to where she was walking, she accidentally bumped into a certain pink haired girl and fell down.

"Walk much?" the rude voice asked. May looked up to see Brianna and Ursula along with their followers. Brianna and Ursula basically dominated the school, they were what the school considered 'popular'. Their lack of kindness was rarely showed through their sugar-coating, but from time to time it would come out to taunt anyone who crossed their paths. May couldn't stand people who were like that.

"I'm _sorry_," May replied, annoyance clearly showed in her tone. Getting up with the help of Dawn, she walked away feeling a glare directed to her from behind. She lowered her voice to a whisper, "How does Vi put up with those two?!"

"With a lot of work," Dawn answered. Scanning the cars parked in front of the school, Dawn pointed to a familiar red car. "There's your mom's car!"

As the two girls made their way there, May waved to her mom.

"Hi girls," Caroline smiled. "How was school?"

"Educational," May responded, climbing into the car. "What else?"

"Good, thank you!" Dawn said with a smile.

"Would you like a ride home, Dawn?" Caroline asked.

Dawn shook her head, "It's okay, I'm going to walk home."

"Alright, be careful sweetie!" Caroline smiled.

"Bye, Dawn!" May waved.

"See you tomorrow!" Dawn called out as they drove away.

Pulling out her music player, May put in her ear buds and she scrolled through her list of songs. Stopping at a song, she smiled seeing her favourite singer. Drew Hayden. Quietly singing along to his song as her mom concentrated on the road, May zoned out and stared out of the window. Within a few short minutes of watching the busy downtown, they arrived at the doctors' office. An entire hour of getting the cast off and her ankle checked, May was finally free of using the disliked crutches and the doctors' office.

The moment May was in her bedroom, she dropped her backpack by her desk and grabbed the empty cardboard box that was resting on her bed. Turning to her left, May looked at the wall, her smile almost instantly turned into a frown. The walls were covered with picture framed awards, photos and many other achievements all involving one thing. Dancing. May took down everything down, the awards, trophies, everything that involved her past of dancing. All put into that one cardboard box then pushed under her bed.

Gone.

May sighed. Then reached over to her desk and replaced the empty spaces on her wall with happy pictures of her and her friends. Stuffed toys were carefully placed on to empty shelves and happy thoughts were there to replace the bad ones. Opening up her textbook, May started to work on homework. The perfect distraction. After completing all her homework, she opened up her diary and started writing.

_Dear diary,_

_Today was pretty boring, I think it's because some of us were busy with things. _Anyways, I finally got my cast taken off. Yay! I finally don't need those crutches anymore. Thank goodness. Although, they did help clear the hallways... I just redecorated my room, I think it'll help me forget about dancing. I've spent my entire life so far trying to reach that dream, I don't think I can keep going after that incident...__

"I'm giving up on dancing," May declared, dropping her pencil. She felt tears stinging the back of her eyes, threatening to fall. "I... give up."

Rubbing her eyes with her wrists, May let out another sigh and tried to think happy thoughts. She put her books back into her backpack and locked away her diary.

"May, it's dinner time," Max announced, standing at his older sister's doorway. "Mom made ramen tonight!"

"Okay, thanks Max," May acknowledged. She stood up and headed downstairs, a small smile reappeared on her face. "Let's go eat then."

Max watched her walk down the stairs before shrugging and heading down himself. Usually May would be over the moon to hear it was dinner time, especially if it was her favourite food. Maybe she just wasn't showing her enthusiasm for food today.

* * *

The beginning is complete! :)

The next few chapters are going to introduce the other characters and then I'm going to start writing some chapters in first person.

I have a bunch of other stories and ideas as well, so if you like the same shippings as I do, you'll see a lot of them coming up. :)

Here's a short preview for Chapter 2:

_"No way!" Dawn squealed, staring down at her phone. "She better not be joking!"_

_"Who?" May asked, as the two started to make their way to school._

Thanks for reading and have an amazing day!

~Skitty13


	2. Chapter 2

Inspiration

Chapter 2

Story update complete.

Ha ha, welcome back to Inspiration! The story that will have a very slow moving plot. I have some studying to get back to, but here you go! Thought you all might like an update!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Dawn yawned, making her way to the Maples' front porch. It had become her daily weekday routine, she would go to May's house wait for her to come running out and then walk to school together. Deciding to check her messages on her phone, her fingers flew across the screen rapidly typing to reply.

"Hey Dawn!" May greeted as she walked out the front door, fully zipping up her winter jacket. Most mornings like the current one, were pretty chilly but as the day continued the weather would warm up. Warm enough for people to walk around in a light sweater.

"No way!" Dawn squealed, staring down at her phone. "She better not be joking!"

"Who?" May asked, as the two started to make their way to school.

"Vi!" Dawn replied, putting her phone away into her pocket. "She's in a student council meeting now and found out something really important!"

May smiled, shaking her head. "Vi rarely tells jokes, I'm sure whatever she's telling you is true. What did she tell you?"

"Okay, so apparently, Drew Hayden will be going to school with us starting tomorrow!" Dawn excitedly exclaimed, using hand gestures to prove her enthusiasm. "The Drew Hayden! You know, the biggest pop star around!"

Freezing on the spot for a moment, May let her friend's words echo in her head for a moment before registering what she had said. Quickly falling in step with Dawn, she tried to play off her moment of shock.

"Tell me something I don't know," May smiled, rolling her eyes. "You're even more excited than when you found out that you became the junior squad's head cheerleader. I didn't think you were this big of a fan."

"I like his music and all, but I'm no crazy fan girl. Unlike some people," Dawn explained, her tone implying the certain pink haired girls in their school. "I'm just surprised someone like him would come to our school. I mean, can you believe it? Apparently his manager slash friend person is coming with him."

"Tomorrow's going to be exciting than," May predicted as they walked up the school's front steps. "Wait. Manager slash friend person?"

"I don't know, that's what Vi called him." Dawn shrugged. "All I know is he travels along with Drew with a manager status. So, a traveling buddy?"

"Oh..." May slowly nodded.

"According to Vi, this news is going to spread like wildfire, so we should try to keep quiet about it as long as possible," Dawn added, opening her locker.

"My lips are sealed," May replied, pretending to zip to her mouth shut. Dawn giggled.

At their lockers, Dawn pulled out her phone to check her messages. Smiling, she showed the message to May, "Tell May I'll see you guys at lunch! -Vi".

"Looks like we'll finally see Vi today," Dawn smiled.

"She's too busy," May agreed. She put her stuff into her locker. "Student council, school newspaper editor, long distance running, social life and homework."

"Don't forget she gets top marks in every class," Dawn added. "How in the world does she manage? I only have cheerleading and homework and that already takes up most of my time."

"No idea," May shrugged. "We have science first, right?"

Dawn nodded as the two headed off to class. The first few periods flew by and Dawn found herself in the school cafeteria eating lunch with May. They sat at the end of the cafeteria far away from the "popular" table.

"Hey," Vi greeted, breathlessly. Sitting down across from May and Dawn, she picked up her sandwich and took a bite.

"Hey Vi," May said in between a bite of her pizza.

"Give us more details involving tomorrow," Dawn urged.

"Tomorrow?" Vi thought for a second. "Oh! Well as you two know, someone special and his friend will be joining us at school. He claims to be taking a break from his career and wants to come back to school for a while. I volunteered to show him around tomorrow."

"Cool!" Dawn exclaimed.

They all sat there quietly eating for a moment. Sounds of the busy cafeteria filled the silence.

"It's so quiet without Ash and Misty," May noted, breaking the silence. "When will they be back?"

"The outdoor ed trip lasts for the rest of this week, so they'll be back this weekend." Vi replied. She took a moment to look at the empty seats of where her friends usually sat. She shook her head, then looked back to May and Dawn as if she remembered something. "Do you guys want to hang out at the new café near downtown after school?"

"Oh! I heard it was really good!" Dawn nodded. "I'm in!"

"If there's food, then so am I!" May agreed.

"Alright!" Vi grinned. "Meet me by the newspaper office after school!" She quickly cleaned up her lunch tray and stood up. "Well, I have to go help someone with homework. See you all later!"

As she left, she scanned the cafeteria, almost as if she was looking for someone. Sighing, she headed off, leaving the cafeteria. Dawn smiled, knowing she was hoping to catch a glance of her boyfriend. With everything going on, timing and meeting people were hard.

May turned to Dawn, "Tutoring?"

"No idea," Dawn mimicked May's tone from earlier that morning. "How are you surprised? She's been helping me for the past few years."

"I didn't think she tutored other people," May replied, waving her off.

Dawn slowly nodded. "You know, it must be hard being Vi. She gets along with everyone despite our school's popularity system. Almost like it's non-existent."

"You changed your place in the system too," May pointed out. "You're the head cheerleader and could be at the top of this popularity triangle but chose to join me near the bottom after my downfall."

"If my best friend gets kicked out, I join her," Dawn simply replied, she reached over to hug May. "Don't pity me. Its okay, I didn't like some of the popular people anyways. Too rude for my liking."

"You're the best, Dawn," May exclaimed, returning the hug. "Come on, the bell is going to ring soon."

Dawn smiled, following May back to their lockers. The popularity system never bothered her other than the rude comments and some bullying to her friends, it wasn't her main concern. Besides, she had an amazing group of friends that were always there for her.

Around last period, their teacher let them out of class early since they just completed a test.

"Ready to meet Vi?" May asked.

Dawn shook her head. "I need to grab some other homework from my locker. I'll see you there in a few."

"Okay," May nodded, heading off first.

Heading to her locker, Dawn grabbed her homework and placing it all into her backpack. Quickly applying some lip gloss, she headed to the newspaper office to meet up with two of her best friends.

* * *

Nothing really interesting happening in this chapter...

Only more character mentions and back round information. Vi seems always busy and somehow manages to handle it all. How? You'll learn about it in one of the later chapters. Much later...

The next chapter is going to have some drama. :) Preview time:

_"Your choice has been made," Brianna said with her eyes narrowed. She turned and stalked away._

Thanks for reading! You guys are amazing!

~Skitty13


	3. Chapter 3

Inspiration

Chapter 3

Back with the third chapter! I have so many stories out now...

Maybe I should cut back from updating so soon... *considers idea in thinking posture*

Nah! This story is fun to write! Thanks so much! :)

To the guest reviewers: Thanks so much for taking your time to review! You're all really nice. :) Oh, and with the powers of google translate, I was able to read your review. I don't speak Spanish but ¡Gracias!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Vi bit her lower lip, staring at her laptop screen from inside the school's newspaper office. She tapped away on her laptop, rearranging the newspaper. The February issue was coming out in the in the next two days and since she was editor, she was always left in charge of last minute adjustments. Fixing and adjusting the newspaper, Vi finished up the final touches then hit save.

While waiting for the little circle that showed the document was saving spin, she absentmindedly tapped the desk while staring out the window to see people hanging around with friends or heading home. At this rate, who knows how long it would take for her to get out of the newspaper office...

"Get out of my way!"

Vi blinked, somewhat startled by the outburst. Checking to see the document saved, she headed out of the newspaper office to see what was happening. In the nearly desolated hallways stood Brianna, arms crossed, standing over May, who was sprawled on the ground.

"Do even watch where you walk?" Brianna asked, glaring down at May.

"You okay, May?" Vi asked pulling her brunette friend back up to her feet. May nodded, dusting any dust off.

Vi turned back to Brianna. "You know, that wasn't very nice, Brianna."

Brianna gasped, a feigned look of hurt on her face as she held her hand on her chest. "You're standing up for a nobody like her?"

"I stand up for anyone who gets bullied," Vi retorted, crossing her arms.

"I've had enough of you and defying our school's popularity system," Brianna snarled, taking a step forward. "You need to learn to watch your place."

Dawn, who was walking down the hallway, noticed the current situation and rushed over.

"You either choose to be popular like me, or become a nobody like her," Brianna spat out, pointing at May. "The choice is yours to make."

"This can't be happening," Dawn said under her breath.

May gave a small nod, rubbing her arms. "This is bad."

Vi bit her tongue, unsure how to respond. She considered everyone her friend, which had created her reputation as the always happy and energetic girl that you could talk to whenever. When there were fights, she was always the peacekeeper, never the one caught in the middle. No matter what she picked this time, bad things were bound to follow. Rumors would leak out, ruining the image she struggled to maintain.

"I..." Vi started, her voice wavering. She shook her head, a determined look appearing. "My choice doesn't make a difference of who I am. But if I had to choose, I would choose... May."

"Your choice has been made," Brianna said with her eyes narrowed. She turned and stalked away.

Vi sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Too much drama in one day."

"I can't believe she made you choose," Dawn exclaimed, shocked. "You know what this means?"

"I'll end up being ignored by Brianna and her group of followers," Vi replied with a shrug. "At least this means I get to spend more time with all of my amazing best friends."

"Can we go to the café now?" May asked, looking at them both with her puppy dog eyes. "I'm starving!"

"Alright, just let me grab my stuff," Vi nodded, heading back into the newspaper office to get her laptop and backpack. "Okay! Let's go!"

As the three of them walked towards the front doors, the sounds of dribbling basketballs echoed out from the main gym. Dawn smiled when she caught Vi pause by the gym doors to look at her boyfriend before following her friends.

"You two are so cute," Dawn cooed, giggling when she noticed Vi turn a light shade of pink. "It's such a shame you're both so busy don't see each other much now."

"How are you not dating yet?" Vi looked at romance loving best friend.

"She's waiting for that prince in shining armor," May joked.

"Maybe I am," Dawn laughed, stepping out of the school.

A happy chatter continued until they reached the café, where May had order many cookies while Vi and Dawn settled for just a drink. Sitting near a window seat, the warmth of the café had a cheery and relaxing setting compared to the busy downtown that was only divided by a single window.

"I love this café," May declared, admiring the large chocolate chip cookie that was about the size of her face. She took a bite of the enormous cookie and smiled. "Mm...! It tastes just as good as it looks!"

"We definitely need to stop by here more often," Dawn nodded, taking a sip of her mocha.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Vi agreed, drinking her hot chocolate. Her laptop was on the table as she checked her phone. "Hmm? Looks like the pop star has landed in Petalburg."

"Really?" May asked, taking a bite of her second cookie.

"Yeah, Catherine, my friend of student council, sent me a news link," Vi explained, typing away on her laptop. "This café is amazing, the wifi here works really fast." She turned her laptop so her friends could see. "And live streaming from the news broadcast now!"

The broadcast showed a reporter standing in front of their school, Birch High. "...The rumors have been confirmed! The famous pop singer Drew Hayden is back in the peaceful city of Petalburg."

The scene changed to one of Drew performing one of his famous songs, Just That Girl, then switch to a recent scene.

"Drew! Can you tell us what we can expect from you in the future?" an interviewer called out.

"Well," Drew said as he was walking off. "Nothing much. You know, I'm just trying to keep it real."

The scene turned back to the reporter, "Will you be able to keep it real? Drew Hayden will be hosting a dance competition at the end of this month in search a talented dancers to take part in his next music video! Do you have what it takes to make it?"

Vi reached back over to close her laptop, as Dawn turned to look at May.

"You have what it takes! Are you going to enter?" Dawn asked, prodding the brunette.

May shook her head, "I don't think so..."

"Aw...! I wanted to see you win," Dawn said with a sigh. Next to her, Vi sighed as well.

"Tomorrow is looking eventful," Vi decided. "Dealing with a pop star and his school wide fans! Just my ideal way to spend the day."

"Ha," May snickered.

"Feeling the love," Vi said, rolling her eyes. She pushed her half finished hot chocolate to May, who happily accepted it. "Would you two like me to introduce him to you?"

"Yes!" Dawn exclaimed while at the same time May responded, "No!"

Vi looked at them both, confused. Raising an eyebrow, she waited for someone to clarify their answer.

"No," May repeated before Dawn could respond. "I mean, think of all the attention we'll get, I don't need Brianna or Ursula out to get me twenty-four seven. Besides, I'm sure we can meet him sometime on our own."

"Alright," Vi slowly nodded. She quickly checked the time and started to put her laptop away. "We should get going, wouldn't want May to miss her favourite meal of the day."

"I guess so," Dawn nodded, she started to get up but stopped. "It's comfortable here, I don't want to go yet!"

Both Vi and May reach over to grab Dawn and pulled her up.

"Come on," Vi laughed. "Think of how much time you'll have to come up with a routine for cheerleading!"

"You're the only one who thinks like that, Vi!" Dawn giggled as they left the café.

May smiled, "She's right though, being head cheerleader means being ready."

"Yeah, yeah," Dawn waved them off. "You're all just jealous of my talent!"

As the three of them continued to joke around and talk, May found herself thinking back to the interview involving Drew. Brushing off her thoughts, she soon found herself back home reaching out for a small box hidden in her closet. Stopping herself, she shook her head, heading downstairs to eat dinner.

"May, sweetie, are you busy later this week?" her mom asked.

May swallowed her food. "Not that I know of..."

"Do you think you can help me with catering then?" Caroline requested. "It's a fancy dinner, I'm hoping you'll help me serve."

"I think I can do it," she nodded.

"Thanks, dear," Caroline smiled. "You'll be a big help."

* * *

Not very eventful, only more information.

There's probably a poll up on my profile, feel free to vote! :)

Ehehe, I have bored you all enough, here's a short preview:

_"I love drama, it's so dramatic!" Dawn smiled, amused by the crowd._

Thanks for reading have a great day!

~Skitty13


	4. Chapter 4

Inspiration

Chapter 4

Time to see some... potential contestshipping!

Ha ha, that and the _famous _Drew Hayden arrives at school.

This shall be interesting...

_Reviews-_

_Cresseliaprincess: Haha, yep. May fell twice now. No worries, maybe she secretly plotting revenge! Mwahaha! I mean... enjoy~! :) Vi may seem mature, but her boyfriend tends to rub off on her. Expect to see a mischievous side pop out soon! XD Thank you! :) _

_KicksAndKisses: That competition is WAAAY in the future. Let's hope I don't forget about it then... Competition will probably coming... I can't predict the date. It's too far in the future! Thanks! You're an amazing friend! :) Good luck with your studies! :)_

_Contestshipper16: With all this convincing of May to dance, I think I should get someone to get her to start dancing again... Bribe her with food! XD She has taken dance classes since "forever" in my story, so... Thanks! Hope you have fun on your trip! :)_

_Nighttyger: Yup, this story is based off of Another Cinderella Story! :) Insta-love? O.o Love at first sight is cool, but with May and Drew's personalities won't allow this! No worries, as I mentioned, very slow moving plot/story. Thanks for the follow! :)_

_Guest: ¡Muchas gracias! Yet again, google translate. I really appreciate your reviews! :) Glad you're liking my story so far! Hope you like this chapter as well! :)_

_ShadowyBlue: Cool pen name! Sounds cool! :) Here's the update! I hope you're enjoying my story so far! Thanks for the support! :)_

_Also thanks to those who follow or favourite! :) I'm glad you all like the story... so far. Haha, thanks! :D_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or quotes from the movie

* * *

Drew looked out of the limo's window, a large crowd of fans, reporters and students were gathered right outside. All of them were waiting for one person, him. He smiled, feeling the crowds' enthusiastic energy. Deciding on the moment to head out to make his dramatic entrance, Paul noticed his reaction and elbowed his arm.

"We don't have all day," Paul said in his usual gruff tone.

Drew nodded. "I know."

Paul rolled his eyes. He had to do something to make his friend leave the limo. "What's your motto?"

"I'm just here to keep it real," Drew declared. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's do this."

"Hn," Paul grunted, heading out of the limo first. Once the door opened, the loud cheers of fans were clearly heard.

Drew stepped out, instantly swarmed by fans. Paul and his bodyguards managed to keep most of them away.

"OMG! It's Drew Hayden!"

"Drew!"

"Party at my place on Friday, dude!"

"I love you, Drew!"

Inside the school, May shook her head at the crowd. Things were just how she imagined things would be, hectic.

"I love drama, it's so dramatic!" Dawn smiled, amused by the crowd.

"Come on, Dawn, let's go," May exclaimed, pulling them off. "We need to get out of here before they get here."

Finally making their way into the school, Drew and Paul quickly retreated into the office. When they walked in, they saw the school's secretaries along with a couple other people milling around. A girl sat in one of the chairs within the office reading a book.

"Excuse me?" Drew asked. One of the secretaries looked up at him. "We're the new students here..."

"Ah, I know," the secretary smiled warmly. "Violet."

"Hm?" the girl looked up from her book. Her eyes widened at the two new students. "Drew Hayden and Paul Shinji?"

"That's us," Drew nodded. "You are...?"

"Violet Light, but you can call me Vi! I'll be showing you two around to your classes today," Vi greeted, pulling on a smile. She grabbed the folder in the chair next to her, pulling out two sets of schedules and locker information sheets. "Here you go!"

Accepting the papers, Paul scanned over them then spoke up. "How good are you with crowds?"

"Crowds?" Vi asked. Paul gestured to the large amounts of fans in the hallway outside the office. "Oh, um, give me a minute or two. I'll try to dispatch things..."

Stepping out of the office, Paul looked at Drew, who shrugged. The noise outside started to fade and Vi opened the office door.

"All clear," she announced. "They shouldn't bother you guys too much, at least not during school hours or on school grounds."

"That was fast," Drew remarked. "How'd you do that?"

Vi winked. "I have my ways." She grabbed her books from the chair she had sat on. "Come on, I'll show you guys to your lockers and first period."

After showing them to their lockers, Vi showed them around the school. Pointing out certain classrooms they would need to go to later, she also made note of certain teachers that would teach them later.

"Birch High is pretty big," Drew commented. "Then again, I haven't been to a school for a while."

"We're one of the best school outside downtown," Vi explained as they turned a corner. She ignored the various looks and stares towards the newcomers. "Our school gets pretty competitive when it comes to tournaments against Oak Academy."

"You're one of the top students here, aren't you?" Paul asked. Vi nodded. "Hn. We'll see about that."

"Paul's a genius," Drew told her. "He's always ready for some friendly competition."

As Drew finished his explanation, he accidentally walked into someone and everything went flying. Nearby people stood around, watching the scene and whispering.

"I'm sorry!" May exclaimed, looking over at Drew. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking..."

Vi nudged Paul and they joined Dawn in picking up some stuff.

"Drew!" a group of fangirls squealed.

Drew wearily eyed the incoming crowd. "I think we should get going..."

Vi quickly nodded, as she and Paul handed over the papers back to May and Drew. Paul looked over at Dawn, his face puzzled as if he couldn't match the face with the name, he shook it off, returning to his usual bored look. Before leaving, Vi sent her close friends a smile, then led Paul and Drew away.

Later that day around lunch, Drew quickly searched his bag for his wallet. As he was looking for it, he noticed an envelope addressed to someone named 'May Maple' between his stuff. Confused, he decided to look for Vi and get the letter returned after school.

...

Paul grabbed his stuff and headed straight for the door the moment the bell went. It was finally the end of the day. Even though it was the first day of school for him, he knew something was going to happen. He headed through the busy hallways to his locker where Drew was waiting, surrounded by fans. Paul grumbled, making his way through the crowd and grabbed his bag from his locker. Once he had all his stuff, he quickly dragged Drew away from it all and into a seemingly empty gym.

"Those fans are getting on my nerves," Paul grunted. Drew shrugged. "Vi doesn't seem to like them either."

"I don't mind them," Drew said. "Although, was it just me, or did you notice the cold shoulder some people were giving her?"

"It's the school's popularity system."

Paul and Drew turned to see a guy with silvery blue hair, shooting hoops.

"This school has a popularity system?" Drew asked. "I didn't notice it."

"You won't at first," the guy shrugged, walking over to them. "You'll see soon enough. It's the whole triangle, pyramid thing. You two are the new students Drew and Paul right?"

"Right," Paul replied. "You are?"

"The name's Jack," Jack introduced.

"Do you know Violet by chance?" Paul asked.

"Everyone knows Vi," Jack said, nodding.

"She was our guide today," Drew explained. "According to the school's 'popularity system', where is she and her friends?"

"Vi doesn't follow the school's popularity rules or system," Jack explained. An amused look crossed his face as he grinned. "She completely ignores it all but..."

"But?" Drew raised an eyebrow.

"She almost hit the bottom yesterday because of a friend, or at least that what the rumors I heard say," Jack finished. "Knowing her, she probably still doesn't care about it. Then again, neither do I. The rest of the school probably sees it as a big deal though."

"How does this system work?" Drew asked, shaking his head. "I always thought pretty and nice girls were at the top."

"Watch what you're saying about my girlfriend," Jack laughed. "I agree with you though, it's a weird system."

Drew gave off a look of surprise. "She's your girl—"

"Do you know where to find her?" Paul interrupted, getting to the point.

"Oh, yeah, that's why we're here." Drew rubbed the back of his head.

Jack dribbled the basketball. "I would say... back field. I think she has a long distance practice."

"Okay, thanks!" Drew called out as he and Paul left.

The back field was crowded with students busy with after school activities and just hanging out. Scanning the large amounts of people and trying to avoid crowds of fangirls that were there for no reason, Drew spotted Vi slowly walking his direction while chatting to someone.

"Hey! Vi!" Drew said, waving her over.

The black haired girl waved to her friend and walked over to the green haired pop star. "Hi, Drew! Paul! Is there something I can help you with?"

"Uh, yeah." Paul jabbed his thumb in Drew's direction. "He has a letter that he wants to return."

Drew nodded, pulling out the letter. "I think I got it during the stumble in the hallway. It's addressed to May Maple."

"May?" Vi asked, scanning the field. Her eyes brighten as she spotted her best friend on the bleacher. "Ah! She's on the bleachers by the cheerleaders. Brunette, blue eyes, middle section, second row."

"Okay, thanks!" Drew nodded, heading off. Paul following much slower behind. The moment the two approached the two meter radius, the cheerleader started to fangirl. Dawn, being the captain of the squad, sweatdropped and tried to regain their attention. Stopping near the brown haired girl, he used his signature smirk. "May Maple?"

May looked up at the shadow covering her work. "Yes?"

"I think I accidentally picked this up earlier," Drew coolly said, holding out the letter.

May carefully scanned the envelope and noticed the familiar dance school label and accepted the letter. "Oh, thanks."

"Drew." Paul called out. "Limo is here."

May watched as Drew sauntered off with Paul and going into the limo. She had a feeling she'd be seeing the green eyed pop star more often. Watching the limo start its engine, it whizzed off into the distance and disappeared out of sight.

* * *

This chapter was complicated... for me. Originally I had it planned out for two chapters but when I wrote it... POOF! One mega chapter! -_-" Now to re-planning the next few upcoming chapters. Sigh. I hope you all enjoyed seeing Drew and Paul finally appear. :)

Arg, I feel so disorganized! *drops head on to desk* Ow...! Wait! Ideas for the next chapter! :) Yay! Next chapter will be up soon! :) Do you guys want me to start some first person POVs or stay third person for the next chapter? O.o

I almost forgot the preview! Here it is!:

_"You're going to that dance with us, May!" Dawn exclaimed. "Everyone will be going!"_

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

~Skitty13


	5. Chapter 5

Inspiration

Chapter 5

Hello again, people! Happy Canada Day! :)

How are you all doing? I hope good!

We're going to use May's POV today! This is going to be an interesting change.

I don't have much to say right now, so let's get this chapter going!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

May's POV

"May!" Dawn loudly shouted the moment I stepped out my front door. I wonder why she was so excited...?

Hoping not to wake up the entire neighbourhood, I just smiled and responded just as cheerfully. "Dawn!"

"Guess what?!" Dawn exclaimed, as we started to walk towards school.

"What?" I asked, equally feeling pumped.

"Vi told me that the student council has a Valentine's Day dance planned out, isn't that so cool?" Dawn squealed. "I know they have a dance every year, but it's Valentine's Day! Who wouldn't be excited?"

I froze in my spot at the words 'dance'. I had just given up on dancing, how was a school dance going to make me any feel better?

"Maaay...!" Dawn exclaimed, snapping her fingers in front of my face and making me blink. "Looks like I'm going to need back up help."

"Wait, what?" I asked, as she dragged me into the school. Soon we were standing in front of our lockers, Vi included.

With Dawn's explanation and my protests, Vi slowly nodded understanding the situation. She had on her thinking expression, the one she had on before coming to a conclusion.

"So May doesn't want to go to the dance..." Vi said, she closed her eyes for a moment.

"You're going to that dance with us, May!" Dawn exclaimed. "Everyone will be going!"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I..."

"Leave it for now, Dawn," Vi calmly put hand on her arm. "I think I can do something about this later." She smiled cheerfully at us both. "I'll see you guys at lunch!"

Dawn and her exchanged a look before Vi headed off somewhere. I watched after her curiously, unsure what she had in mind.

"If only Misty were here." Dawn sighed, with a pout. "Even she would be on my side."

I shook my head, if Misty were here, they would probably team up on me. As much as Misty was a tomboy, she didn't mind the dances and would agree with Dawn. They would all end up ganging up on me causing me to give into peer pressure. I knew that much was true.

"Come on, let's just go to class," I urged, pulling her off.

"Fine," Dawn nodded, following me.

...

"Lunch~! My favourite time of the day!" I happily cheered, sitting down at our usual table.

Dawn sat down next to me. From our spot, although we were around the back but still had a view of the entire cafeteria. I saw Vi talking to Paul, they were deep in conversation, I noted on asking about that later. Drew jogged over to talk to Paul and then Vi waved to them before heading our way.

"Hi guys," Vi said. Giving us a sweet smile, she sat down in her usual spot across from us. "What's up?"

"I'm still working on convincing our best friend here to go to the dance with us," Dawn answered. I could tell she was staring at me without turning her way. "Want to help?"

"Hey, um, why were you talking to Paul, Vi?" I asked, hoping for a topic change.

"Math test, we ended up with different answers for the same question." Vi waved me off, changing the topic once again. "Remember the day before we all started high school?"

I thought back to the that day, we ended up have a sleep over and staying up pretty late. "Yeah... why?"

Dawn instantly picked up where Vi was heading, her eyes sparkling.

"We promised that we wouldn't abandon each other no matter what happens," Dawn reminded. "You have to come with us, I've planned for this dance since January!"

I fidgeted in my seat. "I know, but..."

"You're giving on dancing, we know," Vi softly finished for me. "We understand that you don't want to dance anymore, but could you at least hold it off until next month, please?"

I felt the urge to nod and agree to Vi's plea, but I didn't. After becoming like sisters with all three of my best friends, I knew each of them like my favourite dishes of food. Dawn would use her charm to get things to go her way, Misty by shouting or violence, and Vi had her way with words. By far, Vi's sweet talk was most effective. I shook my head stubbornly.

Dawn offered me a cookie, which I eagerly accepted. Her mom's homemade cookies were amazing, different from my mom's, but still tastes great and irresistible. Then again cookies in general were irresistible. Vi noticed this and was back in her thoughtful look. She leaned over to whisper something to Dawn, who nodded.

"We have an offer," Dawn exclaimed. I watched her carefully, taking another bite of the cookie. "Or a bet, if you want to put it one way."

I gave them both a suspicious look. "I'm listening..."

"We want you to postpone ending your dance dream for a month, and let us convince you to change your mind..." Vi started the explanation.

"If we managed to convince you, we want you to keep living your dreams and dancing. If you still don't want to dance, we'll get you a cupcake every week until we graduate high school." Dawn completed. "How about it?"

I looked down at my food, unsure what to say. To my friends, my choice to stop dancing was really sudden. To me, all the dance competitions leading up until the one with the incident where I hurt my ankle, everything supported my decision. Over the years of competition, I only seemed to gain rivals. Everyone thought that I stopped because of my ankle, but there was more to that. Thinking about it, did I make the right decision...?

"You can answer us after school," Dawn nudged me gently. "Actually just answer Vi, I have another cheerleading practice after school today."

"O-okay," I nodded. Pushing my thoughts to the back of my head, I happily finished the rest of my lunch then headed to off to class.

Sadly, those thoughts haunted me throughout the next few classes I had.

"Hey, May, we're not going to get any work if you aren't concentrating."

A hand waved in front of face, causing me to shake out of my thoughts. After blinking a few times, I noticed Jack staring at me amused. We were partners in our L.A. class project, we needed to make a poster for a short story we read.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "Just thinking about things..."

"Not our project?" Jack asked, giving me a knowing look. I looked down, despite the fact Jack was Vi's boyfriend, he was still apart of my main friend circle and knew how to read my expressions. Was I that easy to read?

"Am I that easy to read?" I asked out loud.

Jack shook his head. "Nah, that would be Vi, she's like an open book. Not many people think about projects that deeply, I was just guessing."

"Ah..." I nodded. "I just can't seem to decide on something." I decided to change topics. "How was your basketball practice the other day?"

"Still working on the three-point shots," Jack shrugged, writing down a few notes from the story. "You never know how things are going to end up if you don't keep trying, you know what I mean."

"I guess so," I agreed. Maybe my decisions were too quick? Should I give dancing another try?

The rest of the day passed by quickly, and I soon found myself standing outside the school waiting for Vi. Usually it's the other way around, I'm the one who comes by running late… But, after mulling after the offer that basic ate away at my sanity, I think I finally had an answer to their pestering.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Vi exclaimed, rushing down the stair to the front of the school. She stopped in front of me, catching her breath. "Have you decided?"

"Yeah, I think so." I cautiously nodded. "I... I'll do it. I see cupcakes in my future though."

"Yes! Dawn will be super excited to find out you agreed!" Vi cheered, giving me a hug. "Time to get going!"

"Going?" I repeated, confused. What did this mean?

Vi looked straight at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Yep, we better hurry, too! Can't be late. There's someplace you need to be!"

With that she started leading me towards the direction of downtown, I hesitated but followed her. Where in the world were we going?

* * *

Yay! May's get dragged off to somewhere over the rainbow! XD Just kidding! :)

Hmm... I wonder if I'm launching into the Cinderella plot too quickly... Nah, I think I'm good! Happily ever after is... somewhere with the end of the rainbow at the moment. Maybe the ending of my story _is _there! O.O Haha, that would be amazing. XD

Ah! I'm going random! Ehehehe... well um... here's the preview! :

_I turned to look at Vi. "What are we doing here?"_

Thanks for reading and have a fantastic day!

~Skitty13


	6. Chapter 6

Inspiration

Chapter 6

Time to find things out! :)

I'll going to use a movie scene in this chapter... I hope you all don't mind.

Umm... I'm probably spoiling things... but if you want to see how things happened when May was at the place Vi dragged her off to, google "Another Cinderella Story Dance" and click the first YouTube video! I would give you the link but FanFic makes things complicated. :P This scene matches to the part when May starts her stretches. Confused? Keep reading! :)

_Reviews_-

_Guest: Thanks for the review! :) Haha, I know what you mean, internet problems can be so annoying! DX Hope you enjoy reading this! :)_

_Amazon Huntress: Hehe, sorry for the wait! I'm trying my best with the various stories I'm writing. :) I don't mind suggestions, and I would love to use your idea! :) With the current situation, I can't make that happen, but I'll remember to use it later! Thanks! :)_

Ah, please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any quotes from the movie

* * *

Drew's POV

After school. It was like any other time of the school day, but with more fans following me. Although I wanted times just to do things as a normal student, fame had its costs. Meaning, I rarely had chance to be alone when I wanted to be. As I headed to my locker, I noticed Jack talking with a girl with short pink hair. After the quick conversation, she rushed off. When she was leaving, she noticed me and grinned.

"Hey basketball player," I greeted, walking over to Jack.

Jack turned around. "Oh, hey, pop star. What's up?"

"Going to visit a dance class in ten minutes," I said with a shrug, opening my locker. "What about you?"

"Another basketball practice, city champions are coming up soon," Jack explained. "Nothing out of the ordinary, after all, 'practice makes perfect', right?"

I nodded. "Who was that girl you were talking to earlier? I've seen her around a lot."

"Brianna? She's a huge fan of your's." Jack grabbed a large water bottle from his locker. "She and her group of followers, they've been gushing about how much their in love with you ever since you've arrived.."

Brianna. I suddenly think back to greeting I got yesterday at lunch. A huge crowd of girls had tried to introduce themselves to me. I think I remember one of them claiming as Brianna.

"Ah."

Paul walked over to me, probably from the waiting limo. "Ready yet?"

"Just about," I grabbed my bag and shoved in some work then locked my locker. "Yeah. I'm good."

"You have no sense of time," Paul scoffed. He gave Jack a nod of acknowledgement before heading off.

"Good luck," Jack called out to me, as he headed the other way.

"Heh, thanks!" I did my signature hair flick and smirked. Behind me I heard many squeals and swoons of fan girls. Predictable.

Heading off to the limo, I climbed in and kept my gaze out of the dark windows. I really hoped someone at that dance class was exceptionally talented. That or someone at my dance competition who'll be in my next music video. After all, there was more to this "break" of mine anyways...

May's POV

As Vi lead me downtown, I managed to recognize a few of the street names before getting lost and confused again. I really hope she knew where she was leading me...

"Do you know where we're going?" I asked, feeling nervous as we turned yet another corner.

Vi bit her lip, stopping to look around for a moment. "Yes! Just give me a second..."

Her eyes lit up the moment she spotted a building. Half dragging me along, I realized where we were. My old dance school. Entering through the back door, oddly enough instead of the front.

I turned to look at Vi. "What are we doing here?"

"You're going to dance class," she cheerfully responded. She pulled out a spare key and shoved it into the keyhole, then opened the door. "Come on!"

I hesitated. Were we allowed to do this? Knowing Vi wouldn't break any laws or intentionally get us in trouble, I reluctantly followed her inside. I knew where every classroom was in this building, but I felt rather confused when Vi lead me into a room that I didn't know about.

It appeared as a large storage area, possible an old dance classroom. The layers of dust in the room showed it hadn't been used for a long time, although the floor was clean. I turned around to ask Vi for an explanation, only to see her walk in quickly and shut the door.

"Vi? What's going on?" I asked. "We aren't going to get in trouble for this, right?"

Vi looked at me, puzzled. "Who do you think I am?"

"Heh," I nervously laughed looking down. "Just asking..."

"Well, there's something special going on in today's dance class, I thought that you might like to take part in," she explained, poking her fingers together. "I hope you don't mind..."

I sighed, putting down my bag. "Where is this place? I've never been here before."

"This is a storage room," Vi replied, taking a seat on a chair. She pointed to the 'wall' behind me, causing me to gasp. "I had to use a string of connections, but I talked to one of my mom's friends that work here. Apparently, this room also works a secret dance studio."

Behind me was some sort of glass that let me see right through it. On the other side of the glass I could see Brianna and a bunch of other people I recognized from either my school or old dance classes.

"They can't see us?" I asked, watching Brianna walk up to the glass and apply her lip gloss.

"One way glass," Vi answered, tapping away on her phone. "Oh, the glass isn't sound proof, so try to stay quiet." She looked up at me and smiled. "Don't forget, have fun!"

I nodded with a small smile, then started to warm up with some stretching. I rolled my eyes hearing the conversation between Brianna and one of her followers, something about dating Drew. The dance teacher walked in, I knew the usual routine so I continued stretching. Suddenly an ear-piercing squeal caused me to snap my head up. Hearing some mumbling from Vi, I turned to see her almost fall off her chair. Stifling a giggle, I turned back to see Drew Hayden walk to the front of the room. Why was he here?

Vi probably knew and set this up...

"Alright, we're going to start things slow," Drew explained, turning to face the mirror. "Ready? Five, six, seven, eight and..."

I watched puzzled for a second, then realized he was teaching the dance to his song Just That Girl. Quickly falling into step, I tried my best to intimate his steps. For certain reasons, I already knew most of the steps. Psh, I totally didn't watch the music video over and over. I, uh, I'm a really fast learner, yeah! That's it!

While we were dancing, I decided to add in my own moves. I heard the sounds of quiet clapping from Vi and I smiled.

"Alright, that's great!" Drew exclaimed, turning back to the class. "I hope you guys aren't tired out already, you better all have high energy levels! Let's do this again."

He turned back to face the glass and repeated the dance. Everyone was in sync, if I remember right, this was an advance class. I smiled, feeling energetic. This was one of the reasons why I started the dancing in the first place, the thrill of it all.

"Okay, looks like you all have the moves down. We're going to do it again, but break it down and do it slower so you guys can add your own style," Drew explained.

Cool! One step ahead of everyone already, and without trying! He walked up to the glass near where I was standing, I blinked in surprise but relaxed. We both started to do the routine together, each with our own style. The same but different. We were so close, yet so far at the same time. When we back apart, Brianna tried to dance with him. I looked away disgusted.

I ran and slid up to the glass continuing the dance as if I didn't see that. Getting up and leaning against the glass, I tried to catch my breath. Turning around to look through the glass, Drew was right in front of me. It... it was almost like we were looking at each other through the glass. Could... he actually see me?

He slowly backed away. I lingered there a little longer then stepped back. I couldn't get over what just happened. Shaking out of it, I fell in step with everyone else, who were repeating the dance again.

"That was great. If you guys are like that at the competition, we're going to have some serious fun." Drew declared, grinning.

Suddenly my phone buzzed, remember the rule about cell phones, I dived for me phone. Vi quickly reached into my bag and handed me my phone. Just an alert for the catering job my mom wanted me to help her with tomorrow. Vi gestured for me to follow her as we left the room. That dance class seemed like a dream, almost impossible and out of reach.

* * *

How'd you guys like this chapter? :)

I'm getting the vibe for... drama, more character appearances and a dance for sure!

What's Cinderella like without the dance? O.o

Preview~!:

_"You're leaving me with him?!" she asked, staring at us with disbelief. "You not serious, right?"_

Thanks for reading have a wonderful day!

~Skitty13


	7. Chapter 7

Inspiration

Chapter 7

...what has happened? When did I gain all these favourites and follows? o.O

Um... Thanks everyone! I'm glad you all like this story! :)

_Reviews-_

_Guest: Thanks! Haha, I understand! No worries! I noticed as I continue to write for this story, the chapters are slowly getting longer... :P Thanks again! :)_

_Amazon Huntress: Of course! It helped a lot! As I was plotting out the story, I noticed it could work out perfectly in one of the parts. I shall not reveal anything yet! XD Anyways, thanks you! I'm glad you like my story! :) _

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Violet's POV

Friday. The one day of the week when I didn't need to wake up early.

Out of habit, I did anyways.

Stretching, I thought back to yesterday. May was in some sort of daze after that dance class. She looked really happy, I really hoped she decided to keep dancing. Snapping out of my thoughts, I jumped up and headed straight to get ready for school. I had to hurry if I wanted to meet him on time.

Almost falling down the stairs, I managed to get ready during ten minutes time. Rushing into the kitchen, I greeted my parents and grabbed a quick breakfast. My older sister, Heather walked in, watching me from the doorway of the kitchen.

"What the rush?" she asked, walking over to help me. "Another student council meeting?"

"Thanks!" I smiled, grabbing two extra muffin and a water bottle. "Ah, no. Just meeting up with my friends."

"That's great," Heather replied. "You got a letter from Oak Academy yesterday."

"Really? Okay, thanks!" I nodded, heading to the front door. "I'll check it later today."

Stepping out the door, I found Dawn and May waiting in front of my house.

"Morning!" Dawn greeted, beaming at me.

"Morning guys!" I quickly joined them on the sidewalk. "What are you guys doing here so early?"

"Joining you," May replied. "We haven't walked together for a while like this."

"Sorry," I looked down, "I've been busy with stuff."

"No need to worry!" Dawn chirped. "Are you still okay with today's tutoring session?"

"About that... I promised to help Misty and Ash catch up with homework. I would help you too, but... Ash takes a while to get things into his head..." I explained, suddenly realizing the situation. "I'll find someone to take my place, okay?"

"Oh, okay!" Dawn nodded. "I'm trusting you with this!"

I turned to May. "Are you free today after school?"

"Sorry, I'm helping my mom with catering," May apologetically answered.

"Oh... okay." I shrugged. "Thanks anyways."

"Misty and Ash are coming back today?" May asked, looking excited. "That's great! We'll finally be all together again!"

Dawn giggled at May happiness, and I felt a wave of happiness wash over me as well.

"Look out!"

I turned to see we had reached the school's courtyard and a basketball came flying our direction. Letting out a startled squeak, I back away and stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk. An arm reached out to grab me, stopping me from falling.

"Watch your step, I can't always be there for you," a teasing tone said from behind me.

"Jack!" I exclaimed, turning around to give him a hug. "Thank you!"

"No problem. I always got your back." Jack smiled, ruffling my hair.

"Aw...!" Dawn squealed. "You two are so cute!"

I blushed and looked away. Jack and I were childhood friends, we always had been really close, we were neighbours after all. We were always being paired up together when we were younger, although I could never tell if it was intentional... He was always there for me, even when I wanted to be alone. I guess it wasn't a surprise that we started dating.

Hoping to changed topics, I tossed May a muffin and turned to Jack handing him the water bottle. "How are your three-point shots going?"

"Good, better than your chances of getting in a basket," he chuckled. He tossed me the basketball. "Here, try."

"We should all back away," May suggested, clearing thinking of my lack of abilities in sports.

I nervously laughed, watching them step back. Unlike my athletic older sister, I was terrible at most sports, although my effort would cover it up, the thing I was good at was long distance running. My gaze flickered over to Jack, who nodded encouragingly. Letting out my breath, I tossed the ball...

It ended up being a rebound. Jack caught it with ease and quickly sunk a basket from where he was.

We spent the rest of the morning all just happily chatting until the class was going start. I was lucky to have friends like them, I would end up lost without them, literally.

I grabbed my books and headed to first period, I still had to find a substitute tutor for Dawn. And I had just the person in mind...

Paul's POV

I got out of my car from the student parking lot. It was still early, so not many people were here yet. Not that it mattered to me. Drew was the one always being swarmed by the fans. Either way, I decided to drive to school today since the green haired pop star had plans after school and I wanted nothing to do with it. Something about a dinner with someone...

I walked by the courtyard, noticing a three people backing away from a girl. Looking more closely, I saw it was Vi and her friends. I stayed back to watch. She was trying to throw the basketball into the hoop. It did anything but go in.

"Jack beats you big time!" a brunette laughed, nudging Vi.

Jack laughed as well, messing up her hair. "Perhaps you should stick to long distance running."

"Got it!" Vi nodded. "The city-wide track meet is going to happen next month, I'll be sure to do my best!"

"That's the spirit!" Jack grinned.

"Such a cute couple!" the blue haired girl exclaimed.

I paused, focusing my attention on her. Something about her seemed familiar. Could she be...?

"Are you really leaving, Paul?" a girl asked me.

I couldn't remember her much about her. All I knew was she had blue hair, an outgoing personality and she use to follow me around a lot. Everything else was a cloudy. It was almost ten years ago, after all.

"My parents said we'll be leaving in a few days," I shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Oh..." she said, looking down. "I'll miss you."

"..." I rested my hand on top of her head, she looked back up at me. "I'll be back for you one day."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I tore my eyes off her and walked into the school. I had better things to do than staring and guessing. She could have been one of those girls that were talking to me trying to get close to Hayden. Might as well spend my time looking over the next few chapters and studying. Especially since Drew wasn't here with his fans yet.

A few hours later in math class, the moment I sat down in my seat, someone rushed over to me.

"Can I help you?" I asked, not bothering to look up from my textbook.

"Yes! Can I ask you a favor please?" Vi's voice asked me.

"Hn?" I grunted.

"I need someone to help tutor my friend with math after school today," Vi explained. "It's just a reviewing session, do you think you can do it for me?"

The warning bell rang as more of the class entered the room.

"I'll make it up to you, if you do!" she pleaded. "You were the first person I thought of."

"How long will this take?" I asked, half interested.

"One hour max!" Vi exclaimed. "Please?"

"Fine."

"Thank you! I'll tell you the detail at the end of class!"

When the school day ended, I headed to the library after leaving Drew to get eaten alive by his fans. Vi told me she would be there to introduce me to the girl I was going to tutor. As I got closer to the school library, I could hear voices drifting through the quiet hallways.

"I'm starving! Do you guys have any food?" a guy whined.

There was a thwack sound.

"Food? Seriously?!" a girl retorted.

"Ow...!"

That was quickly followed by a rustling sound. "Here, eat this."

"Snacks, yes!" the guy sounded happy.

"You carry that many snacks around?"

"Well, I knew he was going to complain, so I just brought some extra."

"Smart idea. Maybe he'll survive the trip to my house alive."

"Wait, what do you mean alive?"

"She's joking!" the girl's voice dropped. "Mostly..."

"We'll meet you at my house then, see you there!"

I turned the corner to see, Vi waiting alone in front of the library.

"Paul!" she smiled, when she noticed I arrived. "Thanks so much!"

"Hn."

She explained to me what I needed to do before leading me to the blue haired girl from this morning. She was also in my science class, or something.

"Okay, Paul, this is Dawn, and Dawn, this is Paul," Vi quickly introduced us.

The girl, Dawn, looked up at me from her scattered notes. "Hey! You're that guy that called me 'troublesome' in science class!"

I stared at her blankly, remembering what happened. She was the girl who almost mixed up the wrong chemicals together.

"I should get going..." Vi announced. Troublesome looked alarmed.

"You're leaving me with him?!" she asked, staring at us with disbelief. "You not serious, right?"

"Sorry! I'm trusting him with your studies for now! I'll see you tomorrow!" With that, Vi had taken off, leaving the troublesome girl alone with me.

Grumbling, I sat down across from her and letting out a loud audible sigh. "What do you need help with?"

The girl looked at me suspiciously. "You're actually going to help me?"

I nodded. "The faster I we get this over with, the faster I can leave."

"Okay..." she nodded. "Could you explain this?"

I glance down at the textbook and started my explanation, having to repeat it a few times. An hour later, we finally finished the reviewing session.

I stood up grabbing my bag. "Understand everything, troublesome?"

"The name is Dawn!" she whispered madly. "Oh, um, yeah! I got it, I'll be fine... ice cube."

I raised an eyebrow watching the perky girl leave. She just smiled and waved to me before disappearing out of sight. Ice cube? Something about her definitely seemed to spark my memory. I just wasn't sure what. Maybe if I did some research...

As I walked out of the school to my car, my phone rang. Drew.

"Speak."

"Hey, are you coming to the dinner?" Drew asked.

"No."

"Come on! This will be a great business exchange opportunity for you to see," he persuaded, trying to find a way to make me end up agreeing to his pleads. "Besides, it's better than hearing Reggie joke around with you all night."

"Hn."

He was right, being out of the house would keep Reggie away. Although I could use other methods, I'm sure I could escape his constant chatter. Studying—

"You need a break from study, Shinji."

I shoved my keys in the ignition. "Fine, Hayden."

"Great—!"

I ended the call and pulled on my seat belt. This was going to be a waste of my time, if I was lucky, the food at the dinner would at least be decent.

* * *

Ah! Sorry! I'm terrible with writing in Paul's perspective! DX I need more practice...

Um... besides that... the next chapter will be much better than this one! :D

I'm quite excited for it actually! :) Drama! XD

Hehehe... *rubs hands together* Until next time! :)

Preview to next chapter:

_"Wakana...?" I repeated. The name sounded really familiar for some reason. "Have I heard of her before?"_

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

~Skitty13


	8. Chapter 8

Inspiration

Chapter 8

Yay! Chapter eight, guys!

Time to get some drama happening! :D

*radiates excitedness*

This was based on the dinner scene in the movie. :)

_Reviews-_

_KicksAndKisses: Haha, same here! XD I have this plan for Paul's back story that might affect or create ikarishipping, excluding the Cinderella plot line, that is. I should put in some more ikarishipping moments... o.o Thanks! :)_

_Nighttyger: Thanks! I'm going to keep trying. :) *cough* Poor Drew, I agree with you though! Fan girls are quite horrifying! XD Although, I got to keep him alive for the contestshipping! :)_

_Contestshipper16: LOL! Yes, he shall! XD Your review gave me an idea, see if you can pick it up! :) Thank you! I think I'm going to need a book called "Getting Into the Mind of Paul"! XD Enjoy the contestshipping moment in this chapter! :)_

_Amazon Huntress: No problem! Here's the next chapter! :) I hope I didn't make you wait to long. Enjoy! :)_

_Ama Zon: Thank you! Of course, no problem! I know what you mean, getting ignored isn't very nice. :/ Thanks again! :)_

_Rainbine2341: I'm glad you like my story! Sorry for the wait! Thanks :)_

_Guest: You're too nice! :) I'm going to keep working with Paul. Hope you enjoy this chapter! :)  
_

_Lapiz14: Thanks! :) Haha, prepare for trouble! -cough- I meant drama! XD _

_Musical Umbreon: I understand, and no worries! These chapters are getting longer. :) Thank you!_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any quotes from the movie

* * *

May's POV

The moment I stepped off school grounds, I heard some familiar voices.

"Hey, look! I think I saw a dragonfly!"

"Ew! Where?!"

"Come on, Mist! Dragonflies mean good luck!"

"Yeah, well, I don't think so!"

I spun around to see Misty and Ash. I smiled and waved to them. "Hey guys!"

"May!" Misty exclaimed, dragging Ash behind her. "Did we miss anything interesting this week?"

"Dawn will probably tell you all about tomorrow," I explained, giving her a hug. "How was the trip?"

"Amazing, we had a great time!" Misty answered. "Totally worth it!"

"The food was pretty good," Ash added.

"Speak about food one more time before we get to my house and I'll pulverize you with my mallet!" Misty screeched, glaring daggers at him.

"Or we could run him over with our bikes," I suggested. Misty and I both laughed as Ash cautiously walked ahead. Dawn, Misty and I all almost biked into Ash and met him that way. Not all at the same time, but during some point during our eventful lives. I think Ash accidentally hit Vi with a soccer ball or something.

I glanced down at my phone to check the time, four o'clock. "I better get going! See you all tomorrow!"

Quickening my pace, I waved to them then ran off. I pulled out a key and shoved it into the keyhole then opened the door. Rushing into the kitchen, I stopped to see my mom with a pile of supplies.

"Mom? I thought this job supplied everything..." I said, dropping my bag aside.

"They are, but you never know if a kitchen is missing something," Mom answered. "Not everyone owns a spatula."

"I guess so," I shrugged. Who doesn't own a spatula? "Who are you catering for anyways?"

"Mrs. Dominique Wakana," Mom checked over her supplies. "She wanted a shrimp salad, vegetable platters, crab puffs, what else...?"

"Wakana...?" I repeated. The name sounded really familiar for some reason. "Have I heard of her before?"

"Mrs. Wakana was singer a few years back, she still appears in commercials occasionally," Mom explained. "I think her daughter goes to your school."

I instantly had a bad feeling about this job. Something didn't seem right...

"You should go change your clothes, you'll be serving food," Mom suggested.

"Oh, um, right!" I nodded, grabbing my bag and heading up to my room. The house was rather quiet, compared to normal afternoons. Suddenly a loud crash sounded from his room. I stand corrected.

"Max?" I asked, stopping near his room door. I raised my hand to knock, when suddenly the door flew open. Max stood there with his backpack on. He looked ready to go somewhere. "Where are you going?"

"The Lights' house, duh," Max answered, looking at with disbelief. "I told you this morning."

Right, Max did mention something about going to Vi's house for dinner.

"What's with the large backpack then?" I retorted. "You don't need such a big bag when your going over a few houses down the neighbourhood, do you?"

"Science project," Max replied. "I'm going to make a robot for the science fair this year."

"Isn't that still a few months away?" I asked.

"It's never too early to start preparing," Max declared.

"If you say so," I said, going into my room.

Time to get ready to help my mom with catering.

Drew's POV

I was sitting down at a large dining table. Sitting next to me on my left, Paul was silently reading over on his phone. Last time I asked what he was doing he simply answered, "research". On my other side was the girl named Brianna and her friend. Although I could hear their occasional whispers, I could feel the stare that one of them had directed at me. My manager, Eve, sat across from me, tapping her fingers impatiently.

We had sat at the large dining room table for the past twenty minutes or so. Doing nothing but waiting.

"So, Drew," Brianna piped up. "Are you single?"

"Yeah, I am," I answered.

She giggled, turning back to her friend.

"How much longer do we need to wait?" I asked, looking over at Eve.

Eve looked over at me and gave me a half shrug. "Hopefully not much..."

"We've been here for twenty-three minutes and forty seconds." Paul spoke up, reminding her how he didn't like to waste his time.

Suddenly someone walked into the room, Dominique Wakana. A singer from the last generation. I was still finding it hard to believe she was once a pop star.

"Hello there, everyone!" she loudly sang out. "Sorry it took me so long. It took me ten minutes just to get down the staircase."

I heard Paul scoff under his breath. Everything Dominique had done so far seemed to have this dramatic air around it. Eve probably sensed it and stood up.

"Pleasure to see you again, Ms. Dominique!" Eve exclaimed, walking over to her to shake her hand. "Your dress is simply..."

Eve seemed lost for words on how to describe the dress. Nearby, I could hear whispers about the terrible dress. That was probably the one thing I would have come to an agreement with, out of anything else they said.

Dominique cast Eve aside with a simple wave of her hand. "Eve. Stunning? Thank you. It's for my next duet with—"

"Excuse me." I called out, everyone's eyes turning to me. "I haven't agreed to that yet, Mrs. Wakana."

"Call me Dominique," she replied. "Perhaps you might change your mind while eat dinner."

Eve sent me a look clearly showing that she wanted me to 'think things through'. I gave her a small nod, as I picked up my glass of water. This was going to be a long night.

May's POV

I adjusted my outfit, knowing I would seem out-of-place either way. It was fancy dinner party, I was wearing sneakers, a t-shirt and jeans with a small apron tied around my waist. I was totally going to blend in with everyone.

At first, I was quite amazed with the place. The house was really big and fancy. I guess I shouldn't expect less of a former pop singer. The kitchen was spotless, Mom was really impressed, although her extra kitchen tools were needed. Apparently they didn't have a spatula. Go figure.

I had finally found out why the name "Wakana" sounded so familiar to me. When I went to get my mom's spatula, I almost ran into Brianna and Ursula. That was when it hit me. Brianna Wakana. After the awkward and unpleasant encounter, it was time for me to play waitress.

"Good luck sweetie," Mom encouraged, smiling at me as she continued to multitask.

"Thanks, Mom," I nodded, setting up the drinks and platters of food.

"Drinks! We need drinks. Drinks, please!"

Startled, I took that as my cue to bring out the drinks. Carefully balancing them on the tray with various drinks, I headed out of the kitchen. When I stepped into the dining room, I instantly noticed Drew sitting at the table. Not wanting to cause another embarrassing meeting with him, I held the drinks close to my face to avoid getting seen or recognized at least, for now...

"I don't drink," Drew stated. "Sorry. Thank you."

I headed over to over to the lady in the blue dress first, I think she was Dominique, and held out the tray for her.

"Of course you don't," she exclaimed, taking a cocktail. "But I do. I drink."

The woman next to her reached out to take one as well but Dominique took it as well.

"I'll get you one," I whispered. She nodded as I continued to served the drinks to everyone else.

"Have you asked anyone out to the Valentine's Day dance yet?" Brianna asked, looking over at Drew. Ursula looked rather interested in hearing the answer as well.

Drew shook his head. "Ah, Dominique, I'm kind of on a break right now..."

I smiled inwardly at myself, as I placed a glass of ice tea in front a bored looking Paul. So Drew didn't have a date yet, it made me feel somewhat relieved. Quickly heading back into the kitchen, I poured another glass of cocktail and gave it the woman before.

"You all must be famished," Dominique exclaimed, she turned to look at me. "You, go get first course!"

"Okay," I squeaked out, hurrying off. "Jeez, she didn't need to be so rude..."

"First course already?" Mom asked, looking up at me from cleaning.

"Yup," I nodded, taking the pasta and a large spoon. I headed back out.

"... I'm sure he can take a break from his break," the woman said, looking over at Drew. "Right, Drew?"

"Do you not know the definition of break?" Paul asked coldly, looking at the two adults in the room.

"I just want to deal with school and hang out with friends," Drew added.

I carefully spooned out some of the pasta onto Dominique's plate.

"Who are you?" she suddenly asked, lifting an arm and bumping into me.

I stumbled back, keeping a hold of the pasta and the spoon. Phew. I didn't fall. Stepping away, I headed over to the next person over, I was in no place to complain.

"That's none of your business." Paul answered.

"Just ignore him," the woman exclaimed, throwing her hands up. She bumped into me, causing me to once again to stumble back.

I'm starting to think these people are out to get me. My eyes flickered around as the conversation started to slowly transform into an argument. Ignoring them, I tried to quickly hand out the pasta.

"Get me another glass of water," Brianna demanded, as I was heading back out.

"Oh, get the salad while you're at it." Dominique ordered.

I merely nodded, before disappearing into the kitchen. I think I know where Brianna inherits her manners from now. Taking out of empty glass, I filled it up with water and placed it on to the tray with the shrimp salad. Silently, I walked back into the room.

"... for the last time, I'm not doing a duet. Thanks for everything," Drew exclaimed getting up and turning around.

It was at that moment I was going to put down the glass of water. The impact of Drew bumping into me, the water was sent flying and spilled all over Brianna. The salad I was holding became airborne as well before scattering everywhere.

Next thing I knew I was on the ground with Drew on top of me.

"Ah, we keep meeting like this," I exclaimed, flustered.

His green eyes stared back at me, as he chuckled, "You have shrimp in your hair."

He picked out a piece of shrimp, then got up, offering me a hand. I took it, feeling embarrassed. Paul nudged him before leaving the room with some of the others. Drew looked back at me then turned to leave as well.

As I was about to head back into the kitchen, I noticed Brianna sending me an icy glare. She was not only soaked by the glass of cold water but, like me, had shrimp salad covering her. I bit my lower lip to prevent laughter from happening. By the looks of things, I should avoid her and Ursula as much as possible on Monday...

"Someone call the cleaners!" Dominique barked before rushing after Drew. "Wait! Drew!"

I quietly slipped into the kitchen to explain things to my mom. I couldn't wait until tomorrow. Hopefully getting a chance to hang out with everyone would improve my mood from this eventful incident.

* * *

LOL! XD I loved this scene! :)

Another contestshipping moment has happened! :)

Although, I don't like Dominique... At least she won't be the evil stepmother in this story.

Thanks again for all the kind reviews, follows and favourites! Stay amazing, everyone! :)

Preview:

_I smiled, feeling excitement bubbling up inside me. Everything next week would be perfect if it went according to plan._

Thanks for reading and have a fantastic day!

~Skitty13


	9. Chapter 9

Inspiration

Chapter 9

Weekend! Yay! :) Sorry to the delay guys! DX

Looks like May gets a break of Brianna and Ursula for a day or two. *sighs in relief* One thing less to worry about for now...

Since you all seem to be sensing the contestshipping, time to get some of the other shippings moving. :)

_Reviews-_

_Nighttyger: Haha, yup. Wait... all at once? *rereads* Oops! That sounded funny, I fixed it. -_-" LOL! Things are confusing. I know what you mean, in the movie she took "forty minutes to descend the stairs". Strange... Thanks! :)_

_Ydream08: Thanks! :) Ah... well, you see... I really like the movie, and there are parts that I want to keep, like the Cinderella plot. Although, I am planning up a bunch of twist in the near future. :) I'm hope I'm not disappointing._

_Lapiz14: Haha, same here! I know what you mean! Contestshipping is so cute! Thanks! :)_

_Musical Umbreon: Thank you! Feel free to PM me if you ever want chat! :)_

_KicksAndKisses: I might have stolen that line from the movie... XD I fear so, my friend. May is going to have a little *cough* BIG *cough* problem in her future. I guess we'll have to find out soon! :) Ikarishipping should be coming soon... Enjoy!_

_Contestshipper16: Yup! :) He'll do some more... very soon. Agree, she's over the top. XP Ah! I know! That moment was so cute yet embarrassing! I think we'll see more of those moments later in the story! :)  
_

_Glaceon Darkheart: What?! I don't know if this is good or bad! *starts running in panic* I'm sorry! DX Thanks for the review though! :)_

_Ama Zon: Run, May, run! XD We can't let her kill off half of the main shipping! Ikarishipping shall be appearing a bit more now. Or at least I hope so... :)_

_Amazon Huntress: Same here. Luckily she home free for this chapter. :) Ooh, great suggestion, I'll try to use for the next chapter! Thanks! :)_

_Guest: Hehe, same here! She had it come though! XD Thanks again! :)_

_MuffinsAreAwesome: Psh, same here. :) At least these things only happen in stories and movies. Thanks! :)  
_

_Sakura Touko: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you're liking my story so far! :) I agree, maybe things will look up for May! Later..._

_Ern Estine 13624: Thanks! I'm sorry for the wait! :)_

_Anonymouswriter713: Haha, thanks! I'm fan of contestshipping too! :) Dominique might make another appearance later... I'm glad she isn't May's evil step mother! :) Sorry for the wait!_

_digipokemon girl 000: Gomen! Sorry! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! :)_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Dawn's POV

I sat in my room, waiting for everyone to arrive. Valentine's Day was coming up next week, and I for one, was super excited. I was a huge romantic. So I guess it's not a surprise what my favourite holiday was. Yesterday after the tutoring session with the ice cube, I noticed a poster that explained more about the school dance. A masquerade ball! How dreamy could this dance become?!

I smiled, feeling excitement bubbling up inside me. Everything next week would be perfect if it went according to the plan.

The doorbell rang, causing me to perk up. I told Misty, Vi and May to come at ten, and the guys to come at ten thirty, but it was barely ten o'clock. I'm guessing it was Vi. Then there was a knock at my bedroom door.

"Come in!" I called out.

Vi opened the door and stepped in. I smiled knowingly.

"Greetings, Princess Dawn," Vi exclaimed mockingly, curtseying before me.

"Ah, thank you, thank you!" I answered, waving for her to get up. "What brings you on this pleasant morning?"

"Just thought I'd come early," Vi shrugged, claiming the chair by my desk. "I'm glad it's finally the weekend."

I nodded in agreement. "Same here."

Vi asked me about how the tutoring session went with Paul, which caused me to start talking about his cold personality. She claimed that he wasn't _that _bad and managed to help me, but she agreed with me that he was kind of distant from people. Truthfully, his antisocial personality made me wonder if he had friends. Before long, Misty and May appeared so I could tell them about what I've planned for the past few months.

"So what are you so radiant about?" Misty asked, sitting down on a large pink cushion.

May nodded. "You look really excited."

"I am!" I exclaimed, grabbing a few sheets of paper off my desk. "The dance is this upcoming Friday, and I have your outfits all ready! At least mostly."

I handed out the dress designs that my mom and Vi's mom had created in the past few months. Our moms worked in the same designing company, so I had completely trusted them to help create our Valentine's Day dresses.

"I like mine," Vi smiled, looking at her design. "Simple, but pretty!"

"Same here," Misty agreed. "I don't usually wear dresses, but I'm glad I let you help."

I turned to look at May, waiting for her response. She was staring at the design, biting her lower lip. Did she not like it? I made a special request when they asked what kind of design May would like.

"It's beautiful," May said, looking at me with a small smile. "I love it."

A huge grin appeared on my face. "Great! I'm glad you guys like it!"

"Looks like there's no need to worry!" Misty exclaimed, quoting my usual catch phrase.

"That's when I worry the most!" May joked, her mood brightening.

I laughed along with everyone, the four of us were as close as sisters. Nothing could go wrong if we stuck together.

Vi glanced at the clock as I took back all the designs. "Ash and Jack are probably going to arrive right..."

My room door flew open, Ash toppling into a pile on the ground as Jack stood behind him with an eyebrow raised.

"...now." Vi finished as we all sweatdropped at Ash. "You okay, Ash?"

"I'm great!" Ash declared, heading over to sit next to Misty.

I shook my head in disbelief as Jack walked in. "Knock first, next time."

"We were going to," Jack explained. "Then he tripped."

We all looked at Ash, who was staring blankly back at us.

"Well... now that we're all here," I said slowly. "Let's go shopping!" Immediately, everyone looked at me alarmed. I giggled, when I mentioned shopping, someone would freak out. What was _so_ bad about shopping? "I'm joking! We need to tell Misty and Ash what happened this week!"

Over the ten minute explanation, a surprising amount of things happened. I started to tell the two happy campers how the week went, Ash somehow found my hidden stash of candy, Misty used her mallet on him a few times, May became extremely flustered about her incidents with Drew, Jack started tossing paper balls into my trash can and Vi was watching Misty and Ash with a puzzled expression.

"Why are you looking at us like that?" Ash asked, looking at Vi.

"Is something wrong?" Misty added, blinking.

Vi shook her head. "Something doesn't seem right..."

May nodded, "That's right! You two seem closer than usual!"

The two went red in embarrassment, causing me to realize what was happening.

"OMG! Are you two dating now?!" I squealed, staring at them excitedly.

Misty looked down, while Ash reached over to take one of her hands. I mentally started to squeal again.

"I asked her to be my girlfriend while we were at camp," Ash confessed.

"You two are so cute!" I cooed, watched them happily. "Now there's two couples in our group!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jack and Vi who were quietly talking to each other, turn pink as well.

Misty looked up at us. "Can we go somewhere else and stop talking about me and Ash?"

"Not happening," May teased, giggling.

I smiled and nodded, "Okay, where should we go?"

"The pool?" Misty suggested, recovering from the embarrassment.

"Too cold," May shook her head.

Ash was going to say something, but Misty must have sensed it was food related and hit him again before he could. It looked like it wasn't as hard a usual, though, if you get what I'm saying. After a short silence, Jack spoke up. "What if we just walk around downtown? We haven't done that in a while."

"I'm sure we'll find something to do when we get there," Vi added, nodding.

We all agreed and then left my house. Snowflakes were lightly falling all around us. I wonder how this day might turn out. Fixing my scarf, I knew one thing, that's for sure. Today will be a great day!

Paul's POV

I stared at my computer screen, taking in all the information. After tutoring that troublesome girl yesterday, I couldn't stop thinking about those memories and the girl from my past. Reggie was out on a business trip for the company, which left me alone at the house without distractions.

Using my memories as my guide, I managed to find out some useful information. Ten years ago, when my parents started their company, Platinum, we lived in Petalburg and then moved to Veilstone. Our families lost contact after I moved away that year.

This meant the girl might have been her. I didn't want to make any assumptions, so until I had my facts right, I wouldn't say anything.

Blue hair, outgoing personality, and might still live in Petalburg after all these years. I could only hope.

Waiting for my parents to reply to my email about where we use to live so I track down some more information, I got up and laid down on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

_"Ouch!"_

_I turned around to see her with tears in her eyes, she had tripped and fell. I held out my hand for her, she accepted and I pulled her up to her feet._

_"Be more careful," I said, my expression softened. "Are you hurt?"_

_"I-I'm okay!" she nodded, clinging on to my arm. "Can we go to the park?"_

_I shrugged, looking over at our parents._

_"Why don't we go to the park?" my mom asked. Her mom agreed and soon we were playing at the park._

_While we were there, I noticed some other people our age playing nearby. There was a guy with black hair running around with green haired boy. Not far from them, a girl with similar black hair was quietly swinging alone on the swings, were they related?_

_"Come on, Paul! Let's go play on the swings!" she cheered, nudging me._

_I nodded and followed her to the swing set where the girl was._

I grabbed my head as a headache rippled by. I was probably thinking about this too hard. Getting up to check my phone, I groaned and grabbed some stuff before heading out.

Since I lived within walking range of downtown, I decided to walk to the Platinum company branch.

"Hey, Ash! Wait up!" a familiar voice shouted.

A raven haired guy run by pulling an orange haired girl behind him. Not far behind them I see a brunette, troublesome, Vi and Jack. The brunette rushes right past me as the other three stop to talk to me.

"Hi Paul," Vi greeted. "Thanks again for yesterday."

I just nodded in response.

"What are you doing here?" troublesome asked.

"Work." I answered bluntly.

"We better get going," Jack exclaimed, scanning the streets ahead. "Ash is probably found the event going on."

"I'll catch up with you two later," troublesome called out after the two.

She started to walk next to me, exactly a step behind, almost as if it were natural. I noticed a flyer advertising the Valentine's Day event going on not far from the company I was heading to. As if she knew I had looked at it, she started to talk about it.

"Valentine's Day is coming up in a week," she exclaimed, smiling. "I can't wait until the school dance!"

I continued walking without acknowledging her, she continued to talk.

She definitely had the personality match for my mystery girl.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" she asked.

I stopped then turned to look at her. "How long have you lived in Petalburg, troublesome?"

"Hm?" she blinked. "First, my name is Dawn. Second, my entire life. Why?"

I looked up at the falling snow, not expecting myself to answer her. "I'm looking for someone."

"Really? Maybe I can help," Dawn offered. "Is it a girl?"

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. How sweet," she whispered to herself. "Maybe you're not as cold as you seem."

Sweet? Did she think I liked the mysterious girl from my past? ... Did I like this girl?

"Feel free to ask me if you need help," she chirped. "Good luck, ice cube!"

With that she took off and disappeared into the crowd. I let out my breath, watched it float away and continued to walk to the company. Changing into work mode, I slipped into the building.

"Mr. Shinji, good morning!" the receptionist called out.

I nodded my greeting and headed into the elevator. Checking the time, it was barely eleven thirty. I pressed button to go to the fifth floor, and waited a few seconds before I stepped off. Once out of the elevator, I noticed Eve and Drew waiting for me.

Platinum was the type of company that did various things, from online business to creating technology. Drew was the one exception within our entire company. Our parents were close, he had potential, and that was how he became a pop star.

"What's the problem?" I asked, looking at the two.

"I thought we could talk more about Drew's break and his public image." Eve explained, standing up. "Should we go into the conference room to discuss this?"

Drew groaned. "I thought I told you, I need this break to get some inspiration."

"Let's take this to the conference room," I said. "Although I don't see any change in plans."

Drew shot me a smile as Eve let out a thin smile. "I understand."

* * *

... and that's why this story was called "Inspiration"! :D

Things are slowly moving along... For me, this is good! :) I'm not sure if you guys noticed, but I'm trying to give each character their own little back story and problem. After all, everyone is different.

As I was writing this chapter, I've thought of an idea. Sometimes, I mention things and really want to elaborate more into it but don't know how to. So... I'll be writing little spinoff stories! :D I have some planned, but I'm not sure when they'll come out...

Anyways, here's a quick preview:

_"What do you think you're doing?!" I shouted, pulling out my mallet. "Leave them alone!"_

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

~Skitty13


	10. Chapter 10

Inspiration

Chapter 10

Monday~!

Which means... *dramatic music* May's in trouble!

Let's see what happens...

Reviews-

_Ama Zon: Haha, yes! Pokeshipping! Brianna and Ursula are definitely going to ruin things... killjoy... XD_

_Amazon Huntress: No problem! Yup, things are looking down for May. Things are pretty obvious... But we'll see! :)_

Sorry for the delay! DX

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Misty's POV

I stretched, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Today was Monday. The first day of classes since returning from the outdoor ed trip. As much as I had fun on the trip, being back home was nice too. Quickly brushing my teeth and splashing my face with water, I pulled on a pair of sweats and a warm sweater before heading outside.

Now that I was back, I needed to get back into my daily routine. Jogging around the neighbourhood, the sun wasn't even up yet. It was barely six in the morning, not many people were up at this time. As I was passing the park, a heard footsteps quietly echo through the area.

Curiously, I paused by the park entrance to see Vi jogging in my direction. I waved, she noticed and waved back.

"Good morning," Vi greeted, release a cloud of warm air. She giggled, amused by the cold morning air. I could see why Jack always treated her as a younger sister before they dated. It was cute.

"Morning," I smiled, as she joined me on my route around the neighbourhood. "Training for track?"

"Yep," she nodded. "Usual morning jog to increase stamina?"

I laughed, "Yep. It's one way, since I can't swim every morning."

Even though I had an indoor swimming pool at my house, my family was full of swimmers, at times there would be reasons why I couldn't use it. So instead, I found a better way to get my morning exercise. Jogging. Occasionally, Vi and I would meet up in the mornings. Sometimes planned, other times by chance.

We both slowed down to a walk after another street. Vi handed me a water bottle.

"Thanks," I stop to take a long drink from it. Water wasn't only important for swimming but to stay healthy as well.

"It's almost six thirty," Vi announced, looking up from her phone. She took a sip from her own bottle. "Sunrise in half an hour, student council meeting in forty minutes, and an hour until school starts."

"I'm going to keep going," I said, stretching on the spot. "You?"

"I need to get back home to read up on some information and research," she answered, looking at me apologetically. "I'll see at lunch. Don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," I waved her off. "See you then!"

After watching her jog away, I turned back to continue my run. Time flew by without my knowing, and before long, it was sunrise. I smiled, pulling out my phone and sent it to my friends. Dawn responded first.

Dawn: Pretty! I love the colours!

May: Great way to start off a Monday. Thanks Mist!

Jack: Cool. Looks like it isn't snowing yet.

Vi: Just stepped out of the meeting room. Looks amazing!

Ash: Ow. Thanks for the wake up call, Mist.

I laughed at Ash's response. I get the feeling he fell out of bed. Turning around, I headed back home. During that jog, I had felt a bad vibe washed over me. Something bad was going to happen today. I just knew it.

...

The moment I arrived at school with Ash, we both heard the usual chatter mixed with squeals. Then a cold conversation blew our way. Gently pulling Ash along and warning him to stay quiet, we approached the drama hallway.

"You are going to pay for what you did this weekend!" Brianna hissed.

She was with Ursula and their followers were surrounding someone, obviously knowing no one would bother their 'revenge' plan.

"Spilling food all over us, you have no right to stand here," Ursula sneered.

Murmurs from their followers voiced their agreement. I noticed May and Dawn, pointing them out to Ash.

"Do you think they're talking about May's catering incident?" Ash whispered.

I slowly nodded. "I think so..."

"That was unintentional!" Dawn's voice suddenly rang out.

"You probably took part in planning that too," Ursula blamed, accusing her as well.

I turned to look at Ash, noticing he disappeared. Where did he go? Moving closer, I hoped it wasn't the bad omen I had sensed earlier.

"You also need to stay away from my Drew!" Brianna yelled, raising her hand up to slap May.

As her hand swung to hit May, I stepped forward, but a hand stopped her. Ash. I decided it was time to join in.

"What do you think you're doing?!" I shouted, pulling out my mallet. "Leave them alone!"

Everyone instantly back away from us, clearly knowing the dangers of my mallet. Sure, this was my blow up plastic air mallet, but I couldn't bring in my usual mallet. I glared at them, daring them to try anything.

"You better watch your back," Ursula warned, leaving along with everyone else.

"You better watch your own backs!" I retorted. Once they all left, I put my mallet back into my bag. "You okay, May?"

"I'm fine," May nodded, sighing in relief.

"Thanks, Mist!" Dawn chirped up, patting May's shoulder. "Maybe they'll stay away for the rest of the day."

"Ash helped too," I exclaimed, shaking my head. "I'll doubt that though. Just remember, I got your back!"

"Who is this Drew person?" Ash asked, clueless about the world-famous teen pop star.

I facepalmed, while Dawn started her explanation on the green haired person. Deciding to cut off the life story short, I pulled Ash's arm around my shoulders and walked off, needing to get ready for first period. May and Dawn happily followed not too far behind.

I knew something bad was going to happen. I just hoped this wouldn't happen all day.

Drew's POV

After a week of going to school, I think I'm starting to get use to it. Ever since I started my career, I had been home schooled since then. Being back in school was interesting, but apparently made no difference to my popularity.

I was walking around the school, trying to avoid my fans since it was a Monday morning. I mean, who wouldn't be tired on a Monday morning? Paul, who usually was there by my side, was working on something related to his company, so I decided to fend for myself. As I was saying, while I was wandering around, something caught my attention.

"You probably took part in planning that too." a cold voice exclaimed.

I could literally sense icicles coming from that tone. Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning. Quietly locating the source of the commotion, I saw a large crowd of girls surrounding two people. I recognized one of them as the girl from Friday's dinner, January? Either way, I remember seeing those two with Vi often.

"You also need to stay away from my Drew!"

My Drew? I don't remember belonging to anyone...

That sounded like Brianna. I saw her raise her hand to hit the brunette. If this was about me, I should at least go stop this...

Just as I was about to step forward to stop her, a raven haired guy stepped in. I froze on the spot, keeping back.

"What do you think you're doing?!" an orange haired girl shouted, holding a mallet. Whoa. "Leave them alone!"

The group of girls retreated, and I stayed glue to my spot. Something stirred inside of me as I watched the brunette talk with her friends. The scene of the raven haired guy saving October flashed through my brain. What was this feeling?

I brushed these thoughts away, shoving my hands into my pocket and walking away. Thinking back of what happened a moment ago made me realize something. Seeing that look from Brianna looked rather frightening. I was just a witness, I shouldn't judge her quite yet. As I continued to walk around the school, a group of fans started to follow me around like usual.

When I heading to a group of old my friends, realization hit me like a bolt of lightning. That feeling I had earlier. Jealously. I wasn't sure, but...

"This isn't real? Is it?" I questioned myself. I ran my hand through my hair. "I'll keep an eye on her..."

Shaking off these thoughts, I pulled on my usual smirk and started the daily routine of going to classes.

May's POV

I peek out from behind my water fountain. No Brianna or Ursula in sight. Cautiously stepping out into the busy hallway of lunch, I sighed out of annoyance. Throughout the entire morning, I had heard many insults whenever there was a chance. Meaning when teachers or my friends weren't around. Foods class wasn't exactly peaceful, if you get what I mean. Rushing to my locker and grabbing my lunch, I dashed to the cafeteria.

Avoiding the chances of tripping and taunting from some of the jocks, I managed to get to the usual table in one piece.

"You okay?" Misty asked, looking at me worried.

"Yeah, I think so," I breathed out, opening up my lunch. Pulling out my sandwich, I munched away contently.

Dawn pulled out a bento, stabbing at a piece a sushi. "Most of the girls that follow Brianna and Ursula around were making really rude comments."

Suddenly someone loudly shouted mockingly, "Watch where you spill your food!"

Laughter followed, and I duck my head down, feeling embarrassed. Clearly, word had spread throughout the school.

"Watch where you aim your basketball!" Jack retorted.

I lifted my head, seeing Jack and Vi approaching the table. Jack was one of the best players on the junior basketball team, no wonder I was hearing a change of tone in the whispers. Vi put one of my favourite chocolates in front of me.

"Thanks," I smiled, looking up at them. I put the chocolate aside for later.

Jack shook his head. "Just ignore him, he likes to joke around."

"I hope it'll cheer you up," Vi smiled, sitting down next to Jack.

Ash sympathetically looked at me, eating his pizza. He glanced over at Misty and made sure he swallowed before speaking. "Sorry we can't be with you every period of the day."

"It's fine, I'm fine," I exclaimed, taking a bite of my sandwich.

"Alright, just give me the word and I'll go pound her with my mallet," Misty nodded.

Vi picked up a french fry, "I think things will be okay, the dance is this Friday. Everyone is too busy with preparations. Although..."

"Although...?" Misty asked.

"I heard there are fan clubs for certain people are happening," Vi finished.

Dawn nodded. "I heard about it, too! Apparently Drew has one, so does Paul and Ash."

"What?!" Misty and Ash both shouted, looking shocked and surprised.

Misty's face darkened as she scowled. "Melody..."

Just as she said that, Melody walked over to our table. She was friends with Brianna and Ursula, although she was on the outdoor ed trip last week as well.

"Hi Ash!" Melody exclaimed, walking over to our table. Her appearance caught all of our attentions, but we continued to eat.

"What are you doing here?" Misty growled, receiving the same look of distaste in return.

"That's none of your business," Melody waved her off, she smile at Ash. "I was wondering, are you going with anyone to the Valentine's Day dance?"

Ash nodded, "I'm going with Misty. What about you?"

"That's yet to be determined," Melody shrugged, crossing her arms. With that, she left.

I watched her leave, confused. "You two are usually at each other's' throats. Did something happening?"

"I don't think so," Misty shook her head. She looked at Ash. "When did I agree to go with you?"

The two of them started to argue, I watched amused. Unlike the past arguments they had, this ended up with Misty blushing and looking away. I guess the camping trip brought them closer.

Vi stood up, pushing her fries to the center of the table. "I need to go use the bathroom, feel free to eat my fries."

Ash eagerly reached out taking a few.

I just smiled, listening to everyone return back to our usual conversations. After a week of only being me and Dawn, occasionally Vi or Jack, it was nice to have everyone back. They really helped me forget about bad things and put a smile on my face.

"Hey, aren't we doing dodgeball this week?" Jack asked.

"Fun!" Misty exclaimed, looking mischievous.

"Oh no," I mumbled.

I really hoped we were on the same team.

?'s POV

"Hello?"

I heard a voice echo through the empty room. I smiled, knowing who it was. The door closed behind them.

"Hey," I replied, letting them know I was here.

"So, did your plan work?"

I shrugged, sitting on the desk and looking out the window. "I did my part. You tell me."

"It worked." There was a pause. "I should get going... someone might suspect something."

"Alright, I'll let you know about phase two." I called out.

Watching the door swing shut behind them, I watched the small flakes of snow fall. Like the snow, looks like my plans were falling in place.

* * *

Sorry again! I took a break for a few days and wasn't sure where to end this, so it ended all mysterious like. :P

I'm working on the next chapter now, hopefully I'll get it out sooner than this chapter... -_-" Oh! I'm also working on one of those "spinoff" stories. It's called Camping Confessions featuring pokeshipping! Be sure to look out for that in a few days if you want to see what happened on that outdoor ed trip. :)

Preview:

_"You're the one," Paul said, nodding decisively._

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

~Skitty13


	11. Chapter 11

Inspiration

Chapter 11

Hi people! Sorry again for the wait. I've been a little busy recently. You know, life.

Anyways... Here you go! Another filler chapter. :D *facepalm* Next chapters will definitely get this story's plot line moving. :)

_Review-_

_Ama Zon: Sorry! DX I didn't mean you! I was talking about Brianna and Ursula. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Anyways, I know what you mean. Just confess, possibly get rejected and deal with it. :)_

_guess who: Eh...? Am I suppose to know who you are? I'm really bad at guessing games! ... No idea. _Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it!__

Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Violet's POV

I sat in the café, looking out of the window. The busy streets of downtown Petalburg City completely unfazed this small café, even though it was in the midst of it all. It was the same one that I had taken Dawn and May to before, I liked the atmosphere this place held. I wrapped my hands around the cup that contain my hot chocolate. Staring at my laptop, I slowly lifted my cup up to take a sip. A small smile appeared as I felt the warmth of the sweet drink spread.

It was Thursday after school, one day before the dance was happening. Everyone at school was practically buzzing with excitement. I didn't show it as much, but I looking forward to it as well. You could say Dawn's attitude towards the dance was radiating off to anyone within a five meter perimeter, which was where I was found half the time. I think Dawn and not being overly involved was reason for my anticipation.

Over the past two days, a rumor about Drew and the possibility of him bringing a date had spread around the school like wildfire. The limelight was off May, which was a relief but Brianna and Ursula wouldn't stop bothering her. Poor May had smoothie all over her yesterday. Luckily it was last period.

At the moment, I was waiting on Jack. We planned on spending some time together alone, so I suggested the café. A sudden basketball team meeting popped up, so he told me to go first. Speaking of heading out first, I thought back to what happened as I was leaving school.

_"Vi!" Dawn called out, walking up to me as I stepped off the school's front steps. "There you are! We're going to my house to go over our plans for tomorrow."_

_"Can we get away from here, yet?" May asked, eyes flickering over to the girls that were looking at her._

_Misty put her hand on May's shoulder. "You'll be fine."_

_"Um... I have plans?" I squeaked out, feeling my cheeks heat up. "Sorry."_

_The three looked at each other. They knew I was the one who didn't back out anything unless I had a solid reason. Dawn seemed to catch on first._

_"Oh, I see," Dawn winked. "We'll see at your house later than, right?"_

_I nodded. Our families would get together from time to time, today was one of those days. "I'll see you all later!"_

I turned back to work in front of me, trying to refocus. My laptop had many screens pulled up with my personal research on information on robots and their functions. Max wanted to make a robot for the science fair, and it had sparked my interest, so I offered to help out. Turns out robots were quite complex yet simple.

"Hn."

Startled, I almost spilled my drink on to my laptop and the work scattered out in front of me. Sighing out of relief, I closed my laptop and looked up to see who it was.

"Oh, hi Paul," I greeted. "What are you doing here?"

He held up his coffee, and I nodded in understanding. Taking a seat in the empty seat across from me, Paul stared at me with his usual poker face. I think I understand why Dawn called him an ice cube. The lack of facial expression was confusing.

"Um... Can I help you?" I spoke up, breaking the silence. I glanced down and closed my overly full notebook.

"You're the one," Paul said, nodding decisively.

The one...? What was he talking about?

"Excuse me?" I asked, feeling confused. "Can you explain...?"

Relaxing back into his seat, Paul's eyes looked out the window. "Do you remember seeing me when you were younger?"

"Ah..." I thought back to when I was younger, trying to recall seeing a purple haired boy. I was about to shake my head, but stopped. Something in my mind clicked. "At a park, I think. Am I right?"

He turned to look at me, surprised. "It was you..."

Thinking hard, I tried to think back of when this happened.

_"Leaving?" I asked, watching my parents with wide eyes. "Why?"_

_"It was his decision, sweetie," Mom explained. "Do you understand?"_

_"You can talk to him if you want," Dad suggested. "He's out playing with his friend now, but you can later."_

_"Later," I repeated, feeling my eyes water. "Can I go to the park?"_

_After hearing their approvals and warnings of caution, I headed outside. A few minutes later, I arrived at the park. Immediately heading for the swings, I sat down slowly swinging. Silently thinking, I scanned the park. My gaze had stopped when I spotted him with his green haired friend._

_Hearing an excited cheer, I turned my gaze to see a happy looking girl with a bored looking boy following her. Blue and purple. I watched them for a moment before remembering staring was rude. Looking up at the clear blue sky, I continued gently swinging._

"You were with a girl then," I said, taking another sip of my hot chocolate. Paul seemed to react towards the word 'girl', maybe that was it. "If it's not to nosy, can I ask who the girl was?"

"I don't know," Paul answered. "You don't know either?"

"It was ten years ago, I'm not sure," I grabbed a napkin, scribbling down an address. I handed it over to him along with my phone. "Here's the address to the park, maybe you'll remember if you visit it yourself. If you don't mind, could you add in your number? I want to contact you if I remember who it is."

After getting his number, Paul claimed he had some work to do and left. I looked down at my notes, information that I had memorized a long time ago. The girl in Paul's memories, I'm sure it was Dawn. I just didn't want to say anything. There was this feeling that urged me to leave things be, everything would work out eventually.

Suddenly my notebook vanished.

"Studying on a date? Looks like someone prefers their books."

I looked up and giggled, seeing Jack examining my notes. I reached out to take it back, only to get it held out of reach.

"Would you prefer if I left you for books?" I retaliated teasingly, putting my things away. Quickly snatching my notebook, I put it away with everything else.

Jack quickly wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into a hug. I instinctively returned the hug. Like our usual hugs, I could feel him resting his chin on top of head.

"You okay?" I asked, relaxing.

"Yeah, I'm not losing to any books, am I?" he answered.

"Hard to say," I quietly laughed. "But... you're more reliable."

Jack let go of me and ruffled my hair. "Come on, let's go do something before the dinner get together."

I nodded, following him out of the café, hand in hand.

Misty's POV

"Misty, are you, like, ready to go yet?" Daisy called out.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I shouted, running down the stairs. Once I made my way down the stairs, I saw all three of my older sisters waiting for me. All of them ended up in the modeling industry and were often called the "Sensational Sisters". I didn't quite fit in, but it didn't matter to me.

"Did you decided to get all dressed up to see your boyfriend?" Violet teased.

Did I mention that one of my older sisters had the same name as my best friends? Other than the same name, they didn't have much in similar.

I looked down at my current attire; sweater, jeans and sneakers. I raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so. _Lily _is the one interested in her looks."

We both turned to see Lily checking her hair in the hallway mirror.

"What?" she asked us. "I need to look good before I go."

"Everyone ready to go?" Daisy asked, holding a covered tray. "I want to get there before this cake, like, gets cold."

I suspiciously glanced at the tray, while putting on a jacket. "You made a cake?"

"_We _did," Violet proudly all stepped outside into the cool evening air. "It's low in carbs, calories, and sugar."

I nodded, as we walked down the empty sidewalks. Once Vi's house was in sight, I quickly rang the doorbell. The door was quickly opened and I was let into the warm, happy house.

"Misty!" Dawn called out, waving me into the living room. "Get over here!"

I walked in, sitting on the couch next to Ash. Everyone was already there, except for May. Which was a little strange, considering she and Dawn usually arrived at the same time.

"Where's May?" Ash asked, taking the words out of my mouth.

"We're taking advantage of her not being here yet," Vi explained, sitting on the arm of the armchair Jack was on. "So we only have a limited amount of time before she comes."

"How are we going to convince May to keep dancing?" Dawn asked, stating the conversation's main topic. "Vi and I managed to get her to give us a month's time to convince her."

"Bribe her with food?" Ash suggested.

Jack chuckled, "I think that works better with you."

"Does anyone know why she stopped?" Vi asked, puzzled. "She merely brushed it off two weeks ago when I asked about her a sprained ankle."

I speak up, thinking back to a conversation. "She told me her sprained ankle helped her make that decision."

"That's isn't good," Dawn mused.

"I'll look into it," Vi offered.

Jack looked out the window, then gestured towards the door. "Someone is arriving..."

The doorbell rang, which had Dawn spring up and rush for the door. Seeing May and Max walk in, I realized that Max was the youngest out of all of us. At least he was easy to get along with.

"Hey guys!" May cheerfully exclaimed, walking into the room with Max behind him.

Max walked over to Vi, and the two started talking about something science related. The rest of us chatted about other things, keeping the previous conversation out.

"Looks like you're losing Vi to Max," May teased, nudging Jack.

"As if," Jack scoffed, laughing it off. "Max is a little brother to all of us."

"True," Dawn agreed, nodding.

"I leave you guys for a moment and you start talking about me?" Vi asked, turning back to us. "Nice to know guys, I thought you'd talk about the dance."

"That's right!" Ash yelped, turn to look at me. "We're going to the dance together, right?"

Apparently we didn't finish that conversation from Monday.

"What do you think?" I asked, almost about to pull out my mallet.

"Guys! Dinner is ready!" Heather called out.

"Food!" Ash sprung up, ending our conversation. Or at least I thought so. He turned back around, leaning in towards me with a goofy smile. "I think you'll say yes."

I opened my mouth to protest when he kissed my cheek and rushed off. Holding my hands up to my face, I walked head down into the dining room. When did he become some cheeky? No pun intended.

"Everything okay, Misty?" May asked. She paused, looking at me concerned.

I nodded, "Just trying to decide if I should use my mallet on him."

"What did Ash do this time?" Dawn asked, walking beside me.

"Just Ash being Ash," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Isn't that why you like him though?" Jack chuckled teasingly.

My cheeks flushed. I glared at him, pulling out my mallet. "What are you trying to say, Frost?"

"Jeez, just get going," Max said, spinning around a rubik cube in his hands. "I'm surprised you guys are all friends."

"Of course we are," May smiled, looking over at her brother. "What else would we be?"

"Girls," Max mumbled with an exasperated tone.

Jack just lead Max into the dining room, mentioning something along the lines, "You'll get use to them, buddy."

"Just wait until May gets a boyfriend," Vi whispered, passing me a plate. "Then protective younger mode will be activated."

I laughed, imagining the scene. "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," she nodded, quietly laughing.

I smiled, thinking about tomorrow. Valentine's Day. Even just thinking about it, the romantic day was for sure would be eventful.

?'s POV

I pulled out my laptop, making myself comfortable as I opened up my email.

_You have one unread messages._

Clicking to opening it, I quickly reached out to grab a tissue before sneezing. After getting a cold this morning, I was determined to get better by tomorrow so I could go to the dance. After all the preparations, I didn't want to miss it after all.

_Subject: School &amp; Plans_

_Hope you're feeling better. I checked with the teachers, you're only homework is math. Pages eighty-five, all questions. Everything else is either excused or given extended time. I got your message about phase two and I'm in. Let's do it after the dance, don't want the happy couple's first Valentine's Day together ruined. Your matchmaking schemes mean well, but be careful or you'll get caught. At least your advice column is very popular. Oh, before I forget, locker 458 tomorrow morning. Mission completed. Get well soon!_

I smiled, reading over the email. Looks like things were going perfectly. Like they had mentioned, I liked to play matchmaker and secretly worked with the school newspaper. Although suspicions about who I was, remained a mystery, only the editor knew who I was.

Closing my laptop, I put it on my desk before heading to bed. Just then my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"You sound better than this morning."

I smiled. That was good.

"Are you ready for the dance?" I asked, fixing my pillow.

"Of course I am. I don't get why it was a masquerade ball though. How am I suppose to tell who _he _is?"

"His dancing skills? He's pretty famous for it."

"Right."

"I need to get my sleep. I'll see you tomorrow," I yawned.

"Good night."

I ended the call, I put my phone on the bedside table. The screen let off a glow, showing off my call log before fading into a black screen.

_Brianna Wakana - 1 minute ago_

* * *

This turned out interesting... Originally, when I was writing this chapter, I only meant to foreshadow ikarishipping, but looks like I got carried away with other stuff. :P Any suspicions on who ? person is?

Anyways, school is starting soon for me, so updates may take a little longer than usual to come out. I won't leave you all hanging for too long! :)

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. There will be more exciting moments to come! :)

Thanks for reading and have an amazing day!

~Skitty13


	12. Chapter 12

Inspiration

Chapter 12

No...! This update took longer then I wanted... *sits in a shadow dejectedly*

*cough* LOL. Um, moving on...

Sorry for the wait. Like previously mentioned, school and life. Jeez, excuses. Again, sorry, I'm trying my best.

_Reviews- _

_Ern Estine 13624: Thanks! Sorry for the wait. Enjoy! :)_

_Lapiz14: Not quite, but very, very soon! Next chapter I think! :) Thanks!_

_KicksAndKisses: No worries, we'll find out... eventually. :D The dance will be there soon... Thanks! Good luck with your stuff too! :)_

_A star in the sky 828: Hehe, we'll find out. Later...! XD Thanks! Hope you liked this chapter! :)_

_NightOwls: Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it! :)_

_Nighttyger: Thanks! Haha, lots happening. Yep... it's almost time! :D_

_Contestshipper16: Is it? Is it, really? O.o LOL. We'll see! Hehe, thanks! _

_guess who: Oooh, I see. Hehe, of course! I like to respond to any/all reviews if possible. :) Thanks! Sadly no, I'm trying to though! :)_

_Sakura Touko: Yes, very suspicious! :D Thanks!_

_Ama Zon: Sorry! -_-" I know what you mean though. I wish I had more time to update, but school and life like to get in the way. Thanks though! :)_

_Amazon Huntress: It's fine! :) Wordless? Is this a good thing? :) Ah, it's fine. I'm glad you like my story! Thanks!_

_Musical Umbreon: I kind of already responded to you, but I thought you might like to know your OC will make her appearance in one of the upcoming chapters. :) Be ready! :)_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any part of the song I used/mentioned *cough*Parody without the humor effects.*cough*

* * *

Drew's POV

Valentine's Day. The one day where I was either surrounded by screaming girls or getting many confession. Today was one of those days when both happened. During times like this, Paul would somehow manage to ward off the girls. Apparently he had his own problem involving fans to deal with.

Over the course of the week, Paul somehow accumulated his own group of fans. Which was kind of strange, since he's been cold towards everyone except for me, Vi and the teachers. I guess some people prefer the cool, mysterious type. That is, if Paul that kind of person.

Arriving half an hour before classes started, I noticed everyone seemed more excited today. The dance was tonight, and by the looks of things, it was highly anticipated.

"Drew, please accept this!"

"I love you, Drew!"

"Will you go with me to the dance?"

I was suddenly handed an armload of gifts from a group of adoring girls. I stood there for a moment, before snapping back to my senses.

"Oh, thanks everyone," I flashed them a smile, knowing refusing them might hurt my reputation. "I hope you all have a great day."

I quickly sneaked away during the midst of swooning and squealing. Heading to dump everything into my locker, I noticed there were already cards slipped inside. Things were probably worse with my fans worldwide sending me gifts. Walking around the hallways trying to avoid any more groups of fans with gifts.

A large crowd around some lockers, curiously I stayed to watch as well. In the middle of the crowd, stood a girl holding a card next to her locker, where a few balloons floated. A guy holding a guitar stood in front of her, he looked at the girl and smiled.

The familiar sound of the strumming of a guitar started to play, filling the hallway with the its melody. Everything else in the hallway was dead silent, which was a little creepy. I recognized the tune that was playing, Just The Way You Are. Just then a voice joined the guitar.

"Your eyes, your eyes, they make the stars seem like they're not shining. Your style, your style, makes you look great, even if you're not trying. You're so beautiful, I would tell you everyday," the guy sang, as he continued to strum his guitar. "I know, I know, if I told you how I felt, then you'll see. It might, it might, be hard to believe but I know you'll see. Cause every time you ask me what I want, I'll say... you're perfect just the way you are."

The girl looked surprised, her hand was held up covering her mouth. She looked on the brink of happy tears.

Carefully setting aside the guitar, he smiled, walking closer to the girl.

"I know we've been friends for a long time, but I liked you a lot," he confessed. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes... yes!" she happily exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.

Cheers erupted from everyone around them, everyone happy for the new couple. Smiling, I walked away. Almost bumping into girl who was wearing a hat, she apologized immediately before vanishing in the crowd. Shrugging it off, I kept walking. Just then, I noticed Paul, free of fans.

"Where did all your fans go?" I asked. "Did they all freeze under your glare?"

Paul blankly stared at me. His look clearly saying, 'Are you serious?' But he answered me answered me anyways.

"Vi got rid of them," Paul shrugged. "She owed me."

"How does she do it?" I muttered, shaking my head. "Well, we're going to the dance tonight. Think you'll find someone who can stand your personality?"

"Already have," Paul replied, walking off. "Just don't know who."

Shrugging away his response, I walked after him, catching up to him to talk about my plans. If it works, maybe I'll find some inspiration and keep working on my career.

May's POV

"Are you sure he'll like these?" Misty asked, she stared doubtfully down at the box in her hands.

"He'll love it," Dawn nodded, eyes sparkling. "You made them."

"Ash does love any kind of food," I added. "Plus I want to see his reaction when he eats the special one."

Vi sighed, although she looked as if she was about to laugh. "Jeez, I feel bad for Ash already."

Last night after the guys had left, the four of us decided to make some chocolates. Even though we were making them for fun, Dawn mentioned giving chocolates to the person you liked. That was probably why we, Dawn and I, were urging Misty to give them to Ash.

"Why isn't Vi giving her's to Jack then?" Misty asked, as we stood in the study hall. It was early in the morning before classes, and it was one of those days when we all were able to hang out together.

The three of us turned to look at Vi, who pulled on a fake smile and shook her head. "Don't even think about it."

Misty turned her gaze back down to her chocolates. Then she quietly muttered, "I'll do it."

"Yes!" Dawn cheered, excitedly clapping.

"Don't make me regret my decision," Misty exclaimed, face red.

"We'll be cheering you on from the sidelines," I reassured.

A buzzing sound interrupted our conversation. We watched Vi pull out her cell phone, checking over something before tucking back away again.

"Something is going to happen in ten minutes," Vi declared. "Remember last week's advice column?"

I thought back to the question that the advice column answered. It was on how to confess to a long time friend. She was the editor of the newspaper, but how would she know a confession?

"Yeah," Dawn nodded. "The confession, right?"

"Right," Vi nodded, starting to walk off. "Go to the hallway by the music hall."

"Where are you going?" Misty asked.

"I just remembered something I have to do. I'll see you there in five," Vi explained. She started to walk off and paused turning back to us. "Tell me how Ash likes his chocolates."

Confused, I turned to see Ash and Jack approaching us from the other direction. Misty quickly hid the box behind her back.

"Morning," Ash yawned, walking over to stand next to Misty.

"Good morning," Dawn chirped, smiling.

Jack looked around. "Wasn't Vi just here?"

"Something came up apparently," I shrugged. "We can catch up with her later."

Dawn looked over at Misty, nudging her purposely.

"Uh, Ash?" Misty asked, side stepping away from Dawn and closer to Ash. "These... are for you."

Ash looked at the box, accepting it and opening it. His eyes sparkled at the sight of the chocolates. "Thanks, Mist! Did you make these?"

Misty blushed, and nodded, her eyes kept on the ground.

"Try the middle one!" I exclaimed, interrupting the mood.

Ash's eyes flickered up at me then to the chocolates. He picked up the middle chocolate and popped it into his mouth.

Jack cast us a suspicious look before silently joining us in watching Ash. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dawn pulling out her phone. After taking a second to chew, Ash instantly started to jump around, fanning his mouth.

"Spicy!" he exclaimed, looking around. "Water...!"

Misty handed him a water bottle, which Ash accepted immediately and gulped down half the bottle.

All of us, except for the Ash, started to go into a burst of laughter.

"They got you good, Ketchum," Jack chuckled.

"Your face was priceless!" I laughed, clapping excitedly.

"I got it all recorded," Dawn cheered, tapping away on her phone.

"Sorry, Ash," Misty giggled, giving him a quick hug. "But... Happy Valentine's Day!"

Ash looked at us all, then brushed it off with a laugh. "It's fine, Mist, but.. are the rest of them spicy?"

Misty let out a light laugh at Ash's suspicious look at the chocolates before shaking her head. Ash grinned before happily eating another one. Typical Ash behavior.

"Let's get going," Dawn exclaimed. "We need to go find Vi and I want to go see a confession."

With that, Dawn pulled us all off, clearly still super energetic from the happiness of the holiday. If this kept up, she would still be like that by the time the dance comes.

...

"I'm home!" I shouted, closing and locking the door behind me.

Pulling off my shoes, I set my bag down on the first step of the stairs and headed into the kitchen. Max was busy scrawling away in a notepad and Mom was pulling out a tray of cookies.

"Hi sweetie," Mom greeted. "How was your day?"

"Okay, I guess," I shrugged, heading to the fridge and grabbing a glass of milk. Sitting on the stool next to Max, I reached over taking a cookie from the another cookie tray. Luckily, those were already cool. I wondered if I should mention the cute confession scene I had seen this morning but decided to leave it out. Dawn's squeals afterwards still echoed in my head."Dawn's really excited to go to the dance tonight."

"Have some fun, alright?" Mom said, smiling. "Remember to grab dinner before you go, your father and I will be on our anniversary date."

"Isn't that sometime in summer...?" I asked, taking a bite of the chocolate chip cookie.

"Mom's talking about their meeting day's anniversary day," Max explained, eyes not leaving his notepad.

"Oh..." I nodded. "I see."

Jumping up, I picked up my backpack and headed to my room. I unpacked a few things and cleaned up my room. We had planned that tonight Mom and Dad would go out on their date, I would go on to the dance and Max would get a babysitter despite his protests. After the dance, Dawn, Misty and Vi would stay over for a sleepover. Everything seemed like it would all work out.

Checking over the weather, I flopped onto my bed. Chilly, but no snow. Great.

Buzz. Buzz.

Rolling over, I reached for my phone and checked my messages.

Dawn: Hey May-may! Hope your ready for the dance tonight. I'll be there with everything in 30 minutes for prep. Hope your ready to become the star of the show! ;) Maybe we'll meet some charming, mysterious guys tonight!

Vi: Ready for everything yet? I hope you don't mind if I stop by early. Max said he wanted help with stuff, so I'll be over in five.

Misty: Feeling refreshed after a swim. I'm coming over in thirty minutes, right?

I smiled, looks like I was right about Dee Dee's happy energetic mood. For some reason, I was glad she didn't set me up with someone. Max seemed to have his way with stealing friends, I just hope I don't lose them all to him. Laughing off that thought, I quickly sent them all back a response and headed downstairs.

Walking into the living room, I heard my parents talking. Quietly standing at the doorway, I decided to wait a moment and listen.

"... apparently she suddenly came down with the flu," Dad said. "She can't make it."

"That's not good," Mom answered in a worried tone. "How are we going to find someone on such short notice? Maybe..."

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at them.

My parents looked over at me with a worried yet, hopeful expression.

"The babysitter for Max called and she can't make it," Dad explained.

"We'll be leaving for our date in ten minutes, so we don't have time to find another babysitter since everyone has plans tonight," Mom added. "I know you have plans as well, but..."

"Can you watch over your brother tonight?" Dad finished.

I stood there stunned, trying to take in the news. What should I do?

* * *

This was a little short. I'll make it up to you guys next chapter! DX Cliffhanger... hehehe... *cough*

How are you guys liking the turn of events? Speaking of turn of events, it snowed where I live. Should have seen it coming... Anyways, I'm finally settling back into my school life. So I think it won't take as long for the next update. Hopefully.

I posted my first spin off story for Inspiration! It's called "Camping Confessions", pokeshipping, it's about the camping trip from earlier, you guys don't have to read it. Ooh, if there's certain scenes or parts of the story that I missed and you're curious about, feel free to request. These spin offs are fun to write. :)

Again, apologies for the long wait and I think that's all. Thanks for all the support everyone! It means a lot to me! :)

Thanks for reading and have a terrific day!

~Skitty13


	13. Chapter 13

Inspiration

Chapter 13

Um...

*awkward silence*

Enjoy? :)

_Reviews-_

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I can't respond to you at the moment, so I'll PM you as soon as possible!_

_Ama Zon: Haha, yup. Things could get bad. We'll find out soon! :)_

_guess who: I know what you mean! Especially if they're at the end of the story. :/ CS will appear very, very soon! :) Sorry for the wait! _

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Violet's POV

Fixing my light purple scarf, I waited outside on the Maples' front porch. I could hear the faint sound of footsteps approaching as I picked up my overnight bag. I had checked it over twice before coming over. Other than helping Max with project, I was also trying see if I could find out more about May's decision about quitting dancing.

At least it kept my mind off my own problems.

The door flew opening, May had a worried look on, but soon covered it with a fake smile.

"Hey, Vi," she greeted, opening the door wider and letting me carry my stuff in.

"Hi," I smiled, watching her carefully. Her smile faltered slightly, but stayed.

There was something wrong. I wasn't sure what it was, but the heavy atmosphere supported my theory. Slipping off my shoes by the entrance, I left my bag on the couch in the living room. May sat down on the couch looking confused. Deciding to find Max later, I sat down next to her and waited.

"Hey, Vi?" May asked, breaking the silence. I tilted my head, motioning for her to continue. "I don't think I can go to the dance."

This was probably what I felt when I walked inside. Silently, I gave her a small smile hoping to get an explanation out of her.

"Why?"

"Max's babysitter can't make it, and my parents just left. Unless I find a babysitter in the next hour or two, there's no way I can go," she explained, looking down at her feet. "What am I going to do...?"

After hearing this, I start thinking up ways to help May. It was a holiday, Valentine's day, meaning lots of people had plans tonight. Pulling out my phone, I sent a distress message to Dawn and Misty.

To: Misty and Dawn

We have a crisis! Get over to May's house ASAP!

"You're going to that dance," I repeated Dawn's words, trying to sound confident. "We'll find a way to get you there. I promise."

Just then, my phone vibrated, indicating someone was calling me. I checked the screen to see who it was before excusing myself to take the call. "Sorry, I need to take this."

Casting May one more reassuring look, I slipped away into the kitchen. I clicked answer call and held my phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Happy Valentine's Day, Vi. How are things going?"

Dawn's POV

I waved to my mom as she drove away, leaving all the luggage and dresses with me. Even though I lived a few houses away from May's house, moving all my stuff was more easily done by vehicle. I wasn't going to run back and forth with one overnight suitcase, my makeup case, four irreplaceable one of a kind dresses, a box containing masks I created just for this occasion and shoes.

Next time, I'm getting them to come over to my house for a sleepover.

Only a few minutes ago, Vi sent me the distress message. Pushing the doorbell, I looked over my stuff. I was sure I had everything. Everything that I could use to help improve tonight.

The door flew open, Misty looking a little surprised, probably the amount of luggage I had. It quickly turned into a smile as she help me bring stuff in.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Misty exclaimed, grabbing my suitcase. "The crisis is bigger than we thought it would be." She lifted up my pink suitcase and easily brought it in. "Why is this so heavy?"

"Overnight stuff," I explained, putting the covered dresses on to the couch next to May. "What is this, crisis?"

"Max's babysitter got sick," May mumbled, staring at the flyer for the dance. "I can't go."

I was heading to grab a few boxes as May said that. Stopping in my steps, I let the information sink in than rushed to grab the box and practically ran back into living room. Sitting down next to her, I shook my head vigorously. "That's not true! It will not be true!"

"Okay, love you," Vi emerged from the kitchen, her phone in hand. She looked up, noticing me and Misty had arrived. "Oh, great! You guys are here!"

Misty sat down next to me as Vi sat on the armchair.

"Who's not going to have plans tonight?" Misty asked out loud. "It's Valentine's day, after all."

"My thoughts exactly." Vi nodded.

Everyone went silent as we tried to think of what to do or who could help.

"My mom and Ash's are going to a single parents party in the neighbourhood," I said, thinking of who could help. "The rest of our parents are on dates..."

"My sisters are at their company's party," Misty added. "What about Heather?"

Max wandered into the room, Rubix cube in hand. He sat down next to May. "Hey, sis, so what's going to happen tonight?"

"I think I'll watch over you," May said, looking a little sad.

"Heather!" Vi exclaimed, eyes sparkling. It looked as if a light bulb lit up above her head. "Heather might be able to! She's attending her university's chemistry party, maybe she can take Max with her."

"What's a chemistry party?" Max piped up.

We all turned to look at Vi, a felt a glimmer of hope appeared.

"It's what the university called their Valentine's day party," she explained. "It's basically the average party, but more science involved. It's open to anyone, so Max could tag along. Heather doesn't have any specific plans so... If Max is okay with it..."

Max nodded.

"Give her a call," I exclaimed, bouncing in my seat. "Quickly!"

Vi nodded, pulling out her phone.

"I can't solve this," Max said, looking down at the cube in his hands. "I heard there's a special technique or something. I haven't been able to figure it out."

"Here," I took the block shaped toy, twisting it. I turned to May and Misty. "You guys are going to love your dresses! They look simply stunning! Everything is going to end out perfectly tonight, no matter what happens."

"You finished it," Max suddenly exclaimed, amazed.

I looked down to see all the colours matched up. "Oh, that was faster than expected."

Max took it back, fascinated. "How did you do it?"

"I matched up the colours," I smiled, sticking out my tongue at him. I heard May giggle, which meant her mood was improving. This was great! Things were getting better. I turned to Vi who was putting her phone done. "So?"

Vi smiled at me brightly. At that moment, the doorbell rang.

"I'll go get it," Misty shot up from her spot to the door.

Quiet murmurs were heard at the front door before Misty reappeared with Heather. Vi's older sister looked at us all with a blank expression. It changed within seconds.

"You guys are very lucky, you know that?" she asked, smiling. "I can take Max with me with certain conditions."

My eyes met with Misty's, who shrugged.

"You didn't mention this earlier," Vi protested. "What are the conditions?"

"They are, that May has an unforgettable night and you guys be back before midnight," she answered. "Can't have you guys out past curfew."

"Great! Thank you!" I squealed. "I'll make sure we all have an amazing night!"

"I'll keep my eyes on the clock, then," Vi offered, taking responsibility. Typical Vi. "Thanks again, Heather!"

"We should hurry," Misty pointed to a clock. "We have two hours until the Ash and Jack come."

I stiffened, hearing the drastic news. Two hours with my planning and preparations needs would barely make it, unless we got moving now.

"Let's go make some magic happen!" I urged. Handing the dresses to Vi, boxes to May and shoes to Misty, I dragged them all upstairs.

Time to start the transformations!

Misty's POV

I sat in front of the vanity table covered with Dawn's makeup and accessories. All of her stuff covered the entire desktop, leaving almost no free spaces. I was ordered to brush my hair while Dawn styled her own. May sat on her bed, examining the glittery gold mask. Vi was somewhere else trying to find earrings, I think.

"Hey, Mist?"

"Yeah?" I stared at the mirror, seeing May look over at me.

"Why are you guys so eager to get me to the dance?" she asked. "I mean it's like any other dance, right?"

Being a tomboy, I completely understood what she meant. They were just dances, nothing important. But...

"It's different this time," I said slowly, picking out my words carefully. "This time, you're free to enjoy yourself, not having anyone bother you for being you. No one will know it's you. It's kind of like a break from reality."

"Oh."

"Besides," I stood up, leading her to a full length mirror. Taking her mask, I carefully put it on her. "Look. Dawn was right, you look stunning. Smile!"

May giggled, hooking our arms together. "We're all going to look great."

"That's the spirit!" I cheered.

The door flew open as Dawn came in wearing light pink dress with black lace design on the left side of the dress which also created the one sleeve. My own dress was a light shade of yellow, with blue accents along the trim. I managed to convince Dawn to let me stay in very short

"Found them!" Vi stepped into the room, holding out a pair earrings to Dawn. Her dress a light shade of purple, like her name, that faded to white.

Out of all our dresses, May's stood out the most. Her was a bright red ruffled dress, a black belt and black gloves that stopped past her elbows as well.

It was a good thing we let Dawn take care of clothes for us, other wise I would've gone to the dance in jeans and sneakers.

"Oh my goodness! We look amazing!" Dawn squealed. "All we need is a little makeup and we'll be main attraction of the entire dance."

"No thank you!" Vi squeaked out, hiding behind me.

I laughed, patting her head. "It's okay, I'm sure Dawn won't do anything drastic."

"We're wearing masks, is makeup necessary?" May asked.

"Just a little eye makeup," Dawn grinned, waving around her mascara wand. "I'll make sure to keep things to a minimum, you know just to enhance your natural beauty."

May sighed, but gave in. Just as it was my turn, the doorbell rang.

"I got it!" I shouted, rushing out of the room. Or as quickly as I could in the shoes I was wearing, I somehow managed to make to the front door and open it.

Ash looked out of breath, slightly crouched over. He stood up properly and his eyes went wide when he saw me. He was wearing semi-formal clothes, a gray-black jacket and his usual goofy smile.

"Whoa! Mist! You look... amazing!" Ash exclaimed.

I blushed looking away. "Thanks. You look nice, too."

"So you girls ready yet?" Jack asked, inviting himself in. "Nice dress, Misty."

"I think so," I nodded.

Light footsteps came quickly came down the stairs, Vi rushing down a few masks in hand.

"Dawn says we're ready to go," she explained, handing out a certain mask to each of us. She stopped in front of Jack. "What do you think?"

"No words needed," he answered, giving her forehead a quick kiss.

"How sweet," Dawn cooed, stepping down the last step. "Love is all around!"

"You guys look amazing," Heather exclaimed, walking over. "How about some photos?"

"Where's May?" Max added.

"Coming!" May shouted, coming down the stairs. After a minute, she reappeared next to me. "I almost forgot my mask..."

"You looks pretty, sis," Max complimented. "At least prettier than usual."

"You're too modest," May smiled, patting her brother's head. "Have fun at the science party, okay?"

Max nodded with a grin.

"Let's see how many photos we can take before you guys go," Heather said.

After many, many photos, we were finally free to leave and go to the dance.

"Jack driving, right?" Ash verified, looking around at us.

"His driving is safer," I rubbed my arms, feeling cold air poking at me. "Hope you're not offended."

"Not at all," Ash cheerfully answered, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "Better?"

"Yeah," I smiled, leaning towards him. It felt warmer just being closer to him, Ash always did have the type of personality that draws you in. "Thanks."

We all piled into the car, as Jack started the ignition.

"Everyone ready?" he asked, shoulder checking to prepare backing up the car.

A chorus of 'yep', 'sure' and 'of course!' came back as a response.

"Let this magical night begin!" Dawn cheered as we started to drive to the dance.

* * *

Alright, I know I took FOREVER to update and it isn't even the dance yet, but when life throws a brick wall at you, you find a way around it, right? Apparently brick walls take a while to get around... -o-"

So, um... Sorry? Anyways, next update will be _much_ soon! My first full year on FF date is coming up (October 5th) and I'm planning another update then. It shall be the dance. Finally. :)

See you guys again soon!

Thanks for reading and have a terrific day!

~Skitty13


	14. Chapter 14

Inspiration

Chapter 14

Finally! :D

I somehow managed to get this done! :) Even if it's a little late. Ooh, if any of you wanted to know how the dance looked like try "Another Cinderella Story tango dance" on YouTube.

Enjoy!

_Reviews-_

_Musical Umbreon: LOL. Yes! In this case it doesn't matter! XD Thanks for the use of your OC! :)_

_WOW544: Thanks! :)_

_A star in the sky 828: I know! Pretty exciting! :D_

_Ern Estine 13624: Thank you! :)_

_Contestshipper16: Yay! Things worked out! :) Oh! Yes! At least, that's how it's looks in my imagination. :)_

_Nighttyger: LOL! Standing out is a new way of fitting in! XD Thanks!_

_Sakura Touko: Thanks! I'm glad you didn't mind the extend wait. :)_

_PolarDawn: Thanks! Aw... thanks! I like my OCs too! XD_

_guess who: Yup! Sorry for taking so long. I typed this all in one day! :P Thank-yous! :)_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any movie quotes or Juri, who belongs to Musical Umbreon!

* * *

May's POV

"We're here," Vi called out as the car stopped.

I looked out the window, noticing the lights outside the school were on and people were still entering the school for the dance. Fixing my mask, I tapped the seats nervously. A night to freely be me. Not someone judged by our school's popularity system. It sounded fun.

A felt a small smile grow on my face.

"Whatever happens, I'll be here for you," Dawn reassured, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"We all will," Misty nodded in agreement.

I nodded, looking over at everyone. We all had our masks on, and if I didn't know, I would've probably thought they were someone else other than my friends. Not knowing who others were felt like a little confidence boost.

"What are you guys waiting for?" Ash asked, already out of the car. "Come on!"

He held out his hand, offering it to Misty and escorted her ahead. She gave us a small wave before disappearing through the school doors.

There was a tap on the glass next to me, Jack stood there offering me his hand.

"Thanks," I smiled, taking his hand and stepping out of the car. Heels were harder to walk in, I probably would've face planted without his help. "Don't you think Vi's going to get jealous though?"

"Jealous? Me?" Vi asked, pretend shock written all over her face. She stood nearby, rubbing her arms from the cold night air.

"I've known her since forever, Vi doesn't get jealous," Jack added, while helping Dawn out as well.

"Thanks, Jack!" Dawn beamed. She linked arms with me. "To the ball!"

Giggling, I walked with Dawn. I turned to call over my shoulder. "We'll see you inside!"

Stepping through the school doors was like entering another world. Almost like what Dawn had said, I felt like a princess arriving at a ball. Dawn released me when we took another step forward. A spotlight shone down on me, and I cringed knowing many of the people stopped to look at me due to my entrance but I relaxed. No one knew it was me.

"Dramatic entrance, complete," Dawn nodded. She gently nudged me. "Step two, have fun, okay?"

Nodding, I carefully walked into the crowd. I let my eyes wander, seeing the room for the first time. Strings of party lights were hung up around the room, fake candles were on fancy candle holders which were on the tables, there spotlights wandering around the room, but the atmosphere of dance was probably the main attraction.

As I walked by a group of girls standing near the sidelines, I heard whispers as they watched me.

"Spotlight stealer," one of them hissed.

Before I could even have second thoughts about the attention I was receiving, there was a gentle touch on my arm along with a quiet whisper, "They're jealous of you."

Vi's eyes met mine as she offered me a small smile.

"Thanks," I whispered back, returning the smile.

Just then, the music changed to a more upbeat tune, couples heading off to dance.

Jack looked off somewhere before turning to me, "Why don't you grab a snack?"

I followed his gaze to see Ash, Misty and Dawn near the refreshment table. I nodded, joining them. Misty, for once, looked amused seeing Ash eating the small bite sized cookies. Dawn was chatting with another guy, the conversation looked kind of animated.

I was going to talk to them, but a guy a head taller than me walked over to me.

"Hey."

Drew's POV

I stood near the refreshment table with Paul. No one had recognized us yet, either busy trying to find me or with their own plans. Considering it was a school dance, this dance was pretty upbeat. Perhaps it was the Valentine's day mood.

"Why am I here?" Paul grumbled, adjusting his mask.

"Accompanying me here," I answered, cautiously lifting a glass of some sort of mysterious pink drink to my mouth. I wasn't able to tell the flavor, but it wasn't bad. I took another sip. "Did you have other plans?"

"No particularly," he put on his usual poker face.

I shrugged, looking around. No one really stood out to me. I lifted my cup to my mouth when I noticed one of the spotlights had stilled from their usual aimless wandering.

A girl stood with her friend, they had just entered the room. My eyes fixated on one of the girls. She captured my attention, her presence seemed to light up the room. She looked a little nervous but seemed to relax.

"I need to talk to her," I muttered, gaining a strange look from Paul.

She slowly walked around, looking around curiously.

_Pull yourself together, Drew! _I thought. _You've met plenty of girls before. Just none of them stood out like her._

Taking in a deep breath, I noticed she came over to the refreshment table. Not letting the chance slip by, I fixed my jacket and walked over to her.

"Hey." I greeted, trying to keep it cool. "That was an interesting entrance. You're dress looks amazing."

"Oh, um, thank," she looked down at her dress, before meeting my gaze. "You look nice, too."

I quietly chuckled, seeing her a little flustered. She didn't know who I was, but was still nervous. This also let me realized, masks and fancy outfits were able to hide one's true identity pretty well.

"Would you like some punch?" she offered, then noticed I already had some. "Or you already have some... Okay."

"Are events here always this popular?" I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

She nodded. "They're really fun, usually."

The music was changing again, somewhat louder than the last song. Setting my cup down, I turned to look at her. A small placid smile on her face as she scanned the crowds.

"Do you want to dance?" I asked, making my voice louder so she could hear me over the music and chatter of other people.

She tucked a strand of her brown hair back and looked at me hesitantly, but nodded. "I would love to."

We walked off to the dance floor, I noticed Paul dancing with a girl. A faint upward turn on his mouth. I took a double take, was that a smile?

"Wait for a moment," she called out, rushing off somewhere.

May's POV

I rushed away from the nice guy who offered to dance with me. It was kind of unexpected, but I guess trying to have fun wouldn't be too bad. I spotted Vi and nearly ran into her and Jack.

"Dropping by so soon?" Jack asked, grinning.

"Yep," I laughed. "Just checking up on things."

Vi shook her head, playful smile on her face. "Need anything?"

"Um, do you know who the DJ is tonight?" I asked, hoping she knew.

"Juri," Vi answered. "Her playlist for tonight is great!"

"Thanks!" I called out, letting the crowd take me away.

Carefully making my way through the sea of dancing couples. I spotted Juri with a dress and headphones on, standing by her DJ stand. Making a beeline to her, I waved when I approached her. We had the same music class together last semester, and she was pretty talented. It wasn't a surprise to see her being in charge of music for the party.

"May?" she guessed.

I nodded. "Hey Juri!"

"How are you enjoying the dance?" she asked, pulling her headphones down so they were around her neck. "The planning committee went all out this time."

"It's been pretty fun so far," I answered. "Do you think you can play a song for me?"

"Sure, what song?"

I leaned over, whispering the song name to her.

Smiling, Juri nodded. She pulled on her headphones and scrolled through her playlists.

"Thanks Juri!" I called out as the music started playing.

She waved as I disappeared back into the crowd. Murmurs and whispers rippled by.

"Tango?"

"Nice song choice," the guy said, taking my hand. "Can you actually tango?"

"Well, it takes two to tango," I countered.

We stood in the middle of the dance floor, among the crowd of dancing people. Starting off simple, we started in the basic dancing stance.

"Think you can keep up with me?" he asked, teasingly.

I gave him a mischievous smile. "It'll be the other way around."

On beat, our bodies got closer and I let my memories of learning the tango overflow. It had been years since I last did the tango, but I never forgot how. One of my hands rested on his shoulder while the other held in his. I could feel his hand resting on my back as the dance started.

"Nice moves," he commented, as we fell in step together. His green eyes sparkled with excitement. "You're good at this."

"Same with you," I grinned, as he twirled me.

Our faces close, I kept my eyes on him as dance continued. Foot work was the main part of tango, and somehow we both managed despite the fact we never danced together. Everyone had gathered around us, and a single spotlight washed over us, but I felt like we were in a world to ourselves.

Feeling playful, I stole his hat and placed it on my head. He managed to get it back and gave me another spin. A moment later, I was spinning again, and a rushing sound echoed through the room. Confused, I suddenly saw little red and pink candies scattered all over the floor.

Falling over, I put my hands down on the ground to get my balance back.

"You okay?" he asked, offering me a hand. "You were great."

I shook my head. "No I wasn't. I fell."

"Well, before that then," he laughed.

Smiling, he led me away from the center of attention.

Drew's POV

We stood at the side of room as things slowly started to go back to the ways it was before.

"Are you a dancer?" I asked.

"Somewhat," she answered. "What about you?"

"I guess you could say that," I smirked, brushing aside a few fringes of hair. "I think you should attend the dancing competition later this month, it'd be nice to see someone with your skills there."

"I'll probably get dragged there by my friends," she admitted. "I actually wanted to stop dancing in general."

"Why is that?" I watched her carefully.

"Personal reasons," she shrugged.

"Well, you keep dancing, take it from me." I said.

"I don't even know who you are," she giggled. "But thanks."

I reached up, taking off my mask. Gasps followed, not only from her. A few girls stood nearby, one with pink hair looked at me shocked.

"I thought you were Drew Hayden," the pink haired girl whispered, shocked.

Another girl rushed over to my dance partner's side, looking urgent. "We have to go!"

I glanced over at the time. It was nearly midnight, the dance wouldn't end for another twenty minutes. She nodded, about head off with her friend.

"Wait," I grabbed her arm. "You never told me who you are."

"I'm sorry, next time?" she called out, wiggling out of my grasp and rushing away.

Watching her leaving, I was about to take off after her, but someone grabbed my shoulder. Paul shook his head and pointed to the ground. A bracelet laid on the ground, a tiny blue jewel sparkling.

_I'll find her as soon as I can, _I promised myself. _And I'll do whatever it takes._

May's POV

Quickly hopping into the car, I let out my breath. It was nearly midnight, meaning my parents would be back home soon and my curfew was coming up.

"So, guys, how did things turn out?" Misty asked, yawning. She was resting her head on Ash's shoulder, their fingers entwined.

"Magical!" Dawn exclaimed, cheerfully.

"I think that speaks for us all," I smiled.

"Nice dancing skills, May," Ash commented.

"You saw?" I blushed, looking out the window.

"Everyone saw," Misty answered. "It was amazing!"

Then everyone fell silent, probably tired since it was pretty late.

"We're back," Jack announced, pulling to a stop in front of my house. "If you girls hurry now, then this night will end out perfectly."

As we got out of the car, I saw Heather open the front door and walk out.

"Be careful driving," Vi told Jack as he was about to drive off.

"Of course," he nodded.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Ash called out as they drove off.

Heather looked at us, pulling up her jacket's zipper. "I trust you guys had a fun night. Get some sleep tonight, okay?"

"Thanks, Heather!" Dawn smiled.

"We will!" the four of us chorused back.

When I changed into my pajamas later, I thought back to what happened. It was an unbelievable night... it didn't really happen did it?

"Good night," I heard Vi whisper, turning out the lights.

The moment my head touched my pillow, I fell asleep. Dreaming about dancing the night away.

* * *

OMG. This could use some editing later. ANYWAYS... this turned out interesting. :) I mean, a little predictable but... whatever! XD

Today was my one year anniversary of being on FF! *confetti falls* Yay! ^-^

Okay, as you might have noticed, I missed out some information... since I was limiting myself to May's and Drew's POVs. Anyone want me to make some spinoff stories for the other shippings? Although, I'll be mentioning what happens with Dawn and Paul probably next chapter, I can still make a spinoff if you guys want. Feel free to request. :)

Anyways, enough rambling. I have tons of ideas for what happens after the dance, so be ready to see more drama! It all starts now~! :)

Thanks for reading and have a magical day!

~Skitty13


	15. Chapter 15

Inspiration

Chapter 15

OMG! Chapter fifteen already?!

*cough* Um, my brain might have stopped function properly sometime during the story, so things might seem off. Sorry! DX

_Reviews-_

_guess who: Apparently, no! XD His hat must work magic! Yes. Contestshipping shall happen soon! :) Ah, I'm an ikarishipper. Hope you don't mind. :) Sorry for the wait!_

_Ama Zon: Thanks! :) Really? I'm mostly a Pokémon fanfic reader, but sure! :) Ooh, thanks for the suggestion. I think I'll use it, hehe._

_Amazon Huntress: Aw. Thanks! I not use to that method, so I thought it turned out... eh. Sorry! I'm trying! DX I'll probably check her out once I finishing catching up on some work. :) No worries, you didn't sound rude. :)_

_Leaffeather: Haha, it's fine! :) Thanks! I'm glad you like it so far. Stay amazing! :)_

_Update: Thank you! I hope this chapter is okay! :)_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Dawn's POV

"Wake up, May-may!" I sang out, gently shaking May. Out of the four of us, she was the last one to wake up. Or should I say, the only one still sleeping?

May groaned, pulling the covers over her head.

"Let her sleep, it was pretty late when we got back." Misty piped up from looking out the window.

"We're all up already, we can't let her sleep the day away!" I protested. "Come on, May!"

After the dance had happened last night, it couldn't leave my mind. It wasn't every night you meet a charming but mysterious stranger who appears to like you. I also wanted to hear about what happened with everyone else, so for this to happen, someone had to wake up.

Unable to make out the mumbling from May, I was about to try again when she suddenly sat up.

"I'm up, I'm up," May announced, stretching and looking around her room. "Morning, girls!"

"Morning, sunshine," Misty joked, making her way away from the window.

"Good morning," Vi smiled, looking up from her book and giving May a small wave.

"Finally!" I exclaimed, bouncing on her bed. "Hurry and get ready! We'll meet you in the kitchen, your mom made waffles!"

"Okay," May brightened up at the sound of waffles. "I'll be down in five!"

Excitedly, I dragged Misty and Vi downstairs with me. Sitting down, Caroline placed a plate of waffles in front of me.

"Thank you!" I chirped out, carefully cutting a piece and chewing it. "These taste great, mom!"

Me and all the girls were close, we almost like sisters, so I guess it came naturally to treat their parents like mine. No one mind, so it was fine.

Caroline laughed. "I'm glad you like them, Dawn."

"They're fantastic!" Misty added. "I can see why people like your catering."

"Mom's the best cook in the city," Max said, looking up from his notebook. "Of course everyone would like her food."

Caroline waved her hand, smiling. "Thanks, you're all too kind."

I looked over to Vi, who never let her book out of her sight. From what I could tell, it was a science textbook.

"What are you reading so early in the morning?" I asked, looking over at the book. "It's Saturday morning, you study too much."

Vi looked startled, bookmarking the page and putting her book down for the first time all morning. Misty looked over at her as well.

"Sorry," Vi said apologetically. "I wanted to review for the exam I have on Monday. You're probably right though, Dawn. Taking a break can't hurt."

"Of course, I'm right," I said playfully.

"An exam on Monday?" Misty asked. "What's it on?"

"Everything," Vi answered with a shrug. "It's just another knowledge test."

I slowly nodded and took a sip of milk. Vi occasionally would get tests, seeing how well she was doing. I remember hearing she was offered to skip a grade once, but declined. I wonder how much time she dedicates to studying... Probably ten times more than my usual time.

"Waffles!" May exclaimed, her eyes practically sparkling as she walked into the kitchen.

"Here you go, sweetie," her mom offered her a large plateful. "Enjoy."

"Thanks, mom!" May cheered, taking a large bite of her waffles. "Mm!"

I smiled, seeing we were all finally together. This meant we could talk about the dance!

"What happened last night at the dance with you guys?" I asked, looking over at May, Misty and Vi. "We all know May had the spotlight on her."

Caroline looked over at us, looking intrigued.

"I wasn't the only one who looked swept away," May retorted. "You were dancing with someone too."

After an hour or so of talking, most of it from me, I finally had all the details. Ash had dancing skills and was being really sweet to Misty, Jack and Vi had the average 'couples at a dance' time, while May and I had mysterious dancing partners. That's just a simplified version of the night. Max apparently had a science filled night, courtesy of Heather, and was bouncing off the walls to telling us everything he learned.

Around then, the doorbell rang and the guys came over.

"Do you guys have any food?" Ash asked the moment he walked in.

"There's still waffles in the kitchen, feel free to have some," May offered.

Ash instantly rushed off.

"Remember to say thank you!" Misty called out after him.

Jack made his way to sit next to Vi, who was reading her book again. "Congrats."

"Congrats?" I repeated.

"Vi made it to the semifinals in a writing competition," Jack explained.

"I did?" Vi asked, snapping out of her studying trance. Jack nodded. "Thanks."

"You didn't know?" May asked, looking at her confused.

"It's been awhile since I last heard about it..." Vi mumbled, looking down at her book.

"These are so good!" Ash exclaimed, a plate of half eaten waffles in his hands.

"Don't talk with your mouthful," Misty scolded.

"Sorry," Ash said, taking a seat next to his girlfriend.

I smiled, ever since those two started dating I've notice Misty's mallet has been neglected. I think that's a good thing... Speaking of couples, my eyes flickered to Vi and Jack who were sitting close together while quietly talking to each other. As if knowing I was looking at them, they looked over at me.

"Um..." Vi looked at me, unsure how to react.

"How did you and Jack get together?" I asked, eager to find out. "It was two years ago, right?"

"About," Jack laughed, running a hand through his silvery blue hair. "It's been a while..."

"Eh, we'll tell you another time," Vi waved my question off. "What about your mysterious guy? Any clue who he was?"

I shook my head. "Nope... Any idea who was your guy, May?"

"It was Drew Hayden!" Misty yelped, jumping up. "That's who she had danced with!"

We all turned to look at May who blushed and hid her face in a couch cushion.

I ran over to sit next to her. "You didn't tell me?"

"I'm sorry!" a muffled response came out from her. "I thought I was dreaming or something..."

"You dream about him?" Ash asked, looking confused.

"I don't think that's what she meant," Misty sighed, shaking her head.

"So you were dancing with Drew all night?" Vi smiled. "How sweet."

"Did he know it was you?" Jack asked, taking the words out of my mouth.

May shook her head, and whispered, "No..."

"What?" I shouted, surprised.

"I never told him," May admitted. "He's probably forgotten about me by now..."

Vi coughed. "Unlikely..."

Confused, we watched her turned on the TV and changed the channel to an interview. I gasped. Drew was sitting and talking to the interviewer.

"So, how was your Valentine's day spent?" the interviewer asked, looking eagerly at him. "Spend it with anyone special?"

"Well, I went to my school's dance," he coolly answered, sitting back in his chair relaxed. "I met a mysterious girl with some amazing dancing skills."

"I see... Have you figure out who your mystery girl is?" the interviewer questioned.

"Not yet," Drew shook his head. "I'm trying though."

I quickly hit the mute button and stared at May. "He remembered you!"

"Apparently..." May slowly nodded, shocked.

Misty let out a small smile. "Looks like there will be a lot of drama happening soon..."

I gave a small nod and continued to excitedly talk about what we just saw. Misty was probably right about the drama, but still! My friend had danced with a pop star! This was exciting, I wonder if I would find out my date's identity as well...

Paul's POV

I looked up from my laptop to see Drew invite himself into my house.

"Hey." he greeted, taking a seat on the armchair.

I lifted my hand in greeting before turning back to my laptop.

"Not going to ask me about the interview?" Drew asked.

I just raised an eyebrow, what do you think?

"It went well," he continued, as if I responded. "Did you see it?"

"I saw it," I nodded. "Your fans are growing."

"You think?" Drew asked with a smirk. "Cool."

I rolled my eyes, typing away on my computer.

"Perhaps I'll find her again," he said, determined.

I regretted letting Reggie give Drew the spare keys, his timing was usually when I wanted to work. Alone. Well, he was tolerable at least.

"Working away your own problems?" he asked, pulling out his phone and earbuds. "You danced with someone last night, didn't you?"

Shrugging, I thought back to last night.

She smiled. "I love events like this, they're so fun! Too bad I promised to leave before the official ending..."

I was sure I've seen that smile before. Somewhere... a long time ago. Then it hit me. It was her. Her smile, her personality, I was sure it was her. Should I ask her, or just keep waiting for her to remember me...? Then again, we were all wearing masks...

I shrugged then mumbled, "You remind me someone..."

"Really? Maybe you've seen me around school?" she asked.

I shook my head. She didn't remember, but I knew there was no way I could forget about her again.

How was it that I had found her and let her disappear on me like that? With everything going on that night, we had forgot to tell each other our names. I was sure if I saw her again, I would recognize her this time. Mask or no mask.

Then again, why was I looking for her?

Perhaps that troublesome girl was right... maybe I did like that girl. No. I only knew her in my childhood, things and feelings could have changed since then.

I clenched my mouth shut and let out a deep breath. Just then, my phone buzzed. Grabbing it, I check my messages.

Eve: Is Drew with you? His announcement caused quite an uproar in the media.

I looked over at Drew, scrolling away on his phone and listening to music.

"Eve wants you to talk to her," I said.

Drew looked up, taking out an ear bud. "Oh, okay."

"You didn't notice?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Sorry, I got distracted by the song I'm listening to."

I nodded, returning to my original task at hand. I had a lot of work to do if I wanted to show my parents I could handle the work of Platinum. Then, one day, I could inherit it.

Drew's POV

Seeing Paul get distracted by his work again, I decided to head to the kitchen to grab a snack. Both Reggie and Paul really minded when I stopped by, so it was fine when I just made myself at home.

Grabbing a bag of chips, I looked out the window and reached into my jacket pocket. The bracelet my mystery girl had dropped last night. A tiny blue jewel sparkled on the bracelet, they reminded me of her eyes.

At first, I thought she might be the one who would inspire to go back to my career. Her dancing skills had amazed me. If she took my advice, maybe she would take part of my dancing competition. After talking to her a bit, her personality fascinated me. I guess you could say she captured my attention. Which didn't happen very often.

Tearing my gaze and thoughts away from her, I remembered that Eve had wanted me to talk to her.

Leaving my music in, I sent her a message.

Drew: You wanted to talk?

Waiting a moment, a message instantly came back.

Eve: Yes. Your announcement is going to cause some problems. You also have a line up of interviews planned up.

I stared at the message, knowing Eve was right. At least I knew I could handle it all. I mean, at least I wasn't been attacked by fans at the moment. Although chances of that happening sounded possible.

Noticing my music had paused, I clicked play again. I was listening to 'Find You by Zedd', which vaguely reminded me of a situation.

Shrugging it off, I headed back to the living room with the chips.

"Want any?" I offered, holding out the bag.

Paul shook his head. "No thanks."

"How do you think next week is going to be like?" I asked, tossing a chip into my mouth.

"Busy." Paul responded. "Very busy."

* * *

Hehe, the irony of the song Drew was listening to! XD

Ack, sorry for boring you guys with this chapter! DX Things will start happening again next chapter! :) Although, I did foreshadow somethings, hue hue hue... XD

I'm posting another spinoff story for Inspiration tomorrow. It's called "Is It Possible?" featuring leafgreenshipping. This makes a total of three spinoff stories, I think.

Again, I promise the next chapters will be interesting! Until next time! :)

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

~Skitty13


	16. Chapter 16

Inspiration

Chapter 16

An update! Finally! :P

I think I can finally start throwing in some drama.

Sorry for taking forever to update... -_-"

_Reviews-_

_guess who: Of course! :) Thanks! Um, I'm guessing... twenty five to thirty chapters? I have no idea... o.o_

_Leaffeather: Awesome! :D It sounded fine. :) Back From Before? Ooh, I'm not going spoil anything but... I can tell you we're about to find out more about Gary in my next update. :) I think that'll be tomorrow. Inspiration is going to be about twenty five to thirty chapters, maybe._

_Ama Zon: Hehe, yup. Canon shipping for...? LOL. Probably. Keep reading, I'm sure you'll find out in this chapter! :) Thanks!_

_Amazon Huntress: Thanks! I get what you mean, sometimes I have to go back and read it over again so I don't cause myself any confusion. No prob. :) Really, that's cool. It's fine. I ramble on a lot too! XD Thanks like always! :)_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

May's POV

The moment I stepped out of my house to go to school, Dawn practically tackled me into a hug. Behind her stood Misty and Ash, holding hands and talking to each other.

"Morning, May!" she exclaimed.

"You're in a good mood," I commented, after she let me go.

"She was like this the moment I met her five minutes ago," Misty said. "Hey, May."

"Hi Misty, Ash," I smiled. Ash tiredly gave me a wave. "Tired?"

"It's Monday," Ash nodded.

I gave him a sympathetic smile then looked over at Dawn as we started walking to school. "So?"

"So?" Dawn repeated with a giggle.

"What's up with your mood?" I asked. "You seem really happy."

"You saw all those interviews about Drew!" Dawn squealed. "You should tell him it's you!"

I bit my lip. I _had _seen those interviews. From various sources, I found out that many of his fans believed he had found love and were supporting him. The rest of his fans were either shocked, surprise or jealous. Overall, everyone wanted to know who the mystery girl he was look for was.

I shook my head. "I can't."

"What? Why?" Dawn asked, stopping in front of me.

"I don't want to get thrown into the spotlight," I explained. "Telling him now... just doesn't seem like a good idea."

"She has a point, Dawn," Ash spoke up. "People react funny to unexpected news."

We all turned to look at Ash.

"What?" he asked confused. "Is there something wrong?"

"Maybe," Misty laughed, motioning us all to keep walking. "It's probably a Monday morning thing."

"Well... you have to tell him sometime." Dawn protested. "If you don't tell him, he'll find out himself eventually."

"If you say so," I shrugged. We had reached the school courtyard, and chatter filled the air. Spotting Jack and a couple of members from the basketball team shooting hoops, I lifted my hand to wave. "Hey Jack!"

He turned to see us and waved. Saying something to his team mates, he jogged over to us. "Morning."

"Isn't Vi with you?" Misty asked, looking around. "I thought I saw you two together this morning."

"She was, but then had to go early for the exam," Jack answered. "She looked a little distracted, I hope she's okay."

"No need to worry! Knowing Vi, she's fine!" Dawn exclaimed cheerfully.

Looks like her happy mood didn't go away. I smiled, "I have to agree with Dawn this time."

"Right." Jack ran a hand through his hair, pausing a moment. "Oh, Vi and I both have stuff happening during lunch and after school. So you guys don't need to wait for us."

"Okay," I smiled. "Basketball game?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm cheering at that game tonight," Dawn said, suddenly remembering. "I'll be practicing at lunch, so I can't be there either."

I looked over at Misty and Ash. They didn't have any plans did they? I'm not sure I could make it through the day if everyone left me.

"We'll still be here for you," Misty reassured with Ash sleepily nodding in agreement. "Although I'll be swimming after school."

"That's fine," I shrugged with a smile. "At least you guys will be there."

"You guys should get ready for class, the bell is going in ten minutes," Jack suggested.

Taking his advice, we all headed into the school. On our way to the front door, I noticed Drew with a long line of girls and fans standing in front of him.

"He trying really hard to find you," Dawn pointed out.

"I can tell," I whispered. "Let's... Let's just go."

Taking this chance, I pulled everyone after me. I couldn't be pushed back into the spotlight. The last time that was about to happen, I ended up with a twisted ankle. I might get worse this time.

Misty's POV

"I think we should take Ash to the cafeteria for a snack or something," I said, supporting Ash as he started to fall asleep on the spot.

"That might keep him awake," Dawn giggled, poking at Ash's cheek. He barely had any reaction. "Good luck."

"Try muffins," May offered.

"Muffins?" Ash echoed, looking somewhat more awake.

"Will do, have fun in science!" I smiled. Pulling him after me to the cafeteria, I bought a blueberry muffin, deciding not to get coffee or else he would be bouncing off the walls, and held it out to Ash. "Here. Hope this helps."

Ash grinned, accepting the muffin. "Thanks, Mist! You're the best!"

"No problem," I returned his smile. Everything was going pretty well this morning, or at least, I thought so until then.

"Ash!"

Turning, I saw Melody come skipping over with a smile plastered on her face. I twitched, sending her a cold glare. She completely ignored it and continued to talk to Ash.

"Good morning," she exclaimed. "How are you doing, Ash?"

"Tired, but better, I guess," he answered, still eating his muffin.

"I see," Melody responded. "Do you want to go to the basketball game with me after school?"

She got to the point fast.

"Sorry, Melody," Ash exclaimed, looking more energetic. "I have plans with Misty."

Melody looked over at me, accusingly almost. "Really?"

"Well, yeah, she's my girlfriend," he declared, throwing an arm around me.

I blinked back my shock and blushed. I didn't expect Ash to act so boldly around others, looks like he cared a lot about me. Then again, if he didn't, we would only still be friends.

"Back off, Melody," I said sternly.

She threw her reddish-brown hair over her shoulder. "So you two finally recognized your feelings for each other?"

I stared at her confused. What did she mean? Finally?

"Well, I hope you two the best of luck. Even in tough times," Melody said, then left us alone.

"What do you think she meant?" Ash asked, clueless as I was.

"I'm not sure myself..." I shrugged. "We should head to class."

Ash sighed. "Guess so... At least you're here with me."

I smiled as we held hands and walked to first class. I think I could get use to this.

On our way to class, I heard some girls talking about Drew and his mystery girl. I guess being famous meant news spread really fast. I wonder if this had any effect on May...

Dawn's POV

"Okay, everyone!" I called out, bouncing on my feet. I looked around at everyone who was in the small gym with me. "Let's try the basic routine!"

It was already lunch time, meaning I had cheerleading practice with the junior cheer squad, which I had to attend since I was head cheerleader. Our school has two squads, senior and junior, because of the two groups senior members would often come to our practices and help.

Today, Whitney was watching over us. As we practiced our cheers and routines, she gave us tips and pointers for how to improve for when we actually had to cheer later tonight.

"That was great," Whitney called out, clapping. "I think you all need to practice one more time, then everything will be perfect!"

I nodded along with everyone else, but when I turned back to get back in place, I stumbled and nearly fell.

"Are you okay?" a chorus of voices asked me, as they surrounded me.

"No need to worry!" I responded, smiling. "I'm fine!"

"Hm. I don't think a clumsy leader will encourage anyone," a chilly voice blurt out.

I looked over to see Ursula standing at the door way to the small gym with her arms crossed.

"What do you mean?" I asked, returning her stare.

"I think _someone _else would make a better head cheerleader then you, Dee-Dee," Ursula retorted.

I grit my teeth, annoyed. "Excuse me?"

"Ursula, are you saying you would be a better head cheerleader?" Whitney asked. "You dropped out after Dawn became head cheerleader. She's committed to the squad, unlike you."

"I didn't say _that,_" Ursula shrugged. "Commitment isn't the only important factor, skill is too."

Whitney narrowed her eyes. "Please leave, this room is for cheerleaders only today."

"Don't think I'll leave this be, Dee-Dee," Ursula exclaimed. "Watch your back."

I felt someone rest their hand on my shoulder and saw a couple of the girls on the squad giving me supporting smiles. Relaxing, I clapped my hands together then called out, "Let's get back to practice! From the top!"

A few cheers responded in my energetic words.

I wasn't going to let Ursula get the best of me.

Violet's POV

I sat in front of the computer during my spare period typing up a report for one of my classes. Although I might have looked completely engrossed into my work, my mind was actually on many other things. Like the exam did this morning or the writing competition I was in. I wasn't worried about my results, but how people were going to react. The letter sitting on my desk at home was playing a large part in occupying my thoughts.

I finished up the concluding paragraph and hit save. Once it finished, I opened another file and scanned over what I knew about Dawn and Paul's past. After finding old class photos and looking through old photo albums, I discovered interesting facts. Paul _was _looking for Dawn. The pictures of Dawn when she was younger matched my memories exactly. I even managed to some solid information. A photo.

Checking over the information one more time, I lingered the mouse over the close button. Until Paul knew it was Dawn, I wouldn't need this for a while. Closing it for now, I pulled out another document about May. Don't get me wrong, but making files on things was my best way on keeping research.

May had quit dancing after hurting her ankle, a city-wide competition. I wasn't able to find out how she hurt it yet. Soon though.

Closing my laptop, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. I felt like I needed a break, but I had worked I needed to finish.

"Slacking off?"

My eyes flew open, and blue eyes were the only thing I saw.

"Jack!" I exclaimed as he chuckled and backed away to give me some space.

"You okay, Vi?" May asked, watching me as I sat back up properly._  
_

"I'm fine," I answered. I was sitting the back part of the library, hidden right between the two shelves. Not many people came here, so I would often came here to hide out when I wanted peace. "What brings you guys here?"

"Looking up some information for our book project," May answered. "We're almost done."

"That's good," I smiled.

"What about you?" Jack asked, sitting down next to me.

"Just working on some assignments," I shrugged. "Shouldn't you get back to work?"

"Nah, we have time," Jack exclaimed, pulling me into a side hug.

"I sense the love coming from you two," May teased.

I laughed leaning into Jack's side. "Not you, too."

May stuck her tongue out at me.

"How did lunch turn out?" I asked, pushing my stuff aside so she had space to sit.

"Well..." May looked hesitant to answer me. "Brianna and her partner Ursula stopped by, but Ash and Misty stood up for me. Then..."

"Then?" I echoed.

"Drew walked by, although he didn't seem to notice me," May shrugged, taking a seat. "It doesn't matter though! I'm kind of... glad."

"As if," Jack said, shaking his head. "You can't hide from him forever, you know. Sure, he might not notice now, but he will eventually."

"Yeah, but..." May sighed.

"Jack's right," I added. "Remember not to let Brianna put you down."

"Got it," she nodded. "The month's already half over. Have you guys decided on how to convince me to keep dancing?"

"Working on it," Jack slowly responded, looking over at me.

"Yep," I nodded. "You'll regret ever stopped dancing in the first place."

"Good luck," May laughed. "I'll be the judge about that."

I chatted with Jack and May for a while before they headed back to work. Which left back with time to think about that letter that made me wonder what I should do. Hearing the bell, I stood up and grabbed all my stuff. I shook off my thoughts and headed to class, I wasn't the only one who would be facing problems. I had to make sure everyone else was trying their best as well.

* * *

Um... *pokes fingers together* I have some news to share...

Okay, so since it's November, I've decided to take part in this year's NaNoWriMo challenge! More info about it on my profile. So, since I'm taking part, I just started myself another project which I'm going try to finish by the end of this month.

I probably bitten off _way _more than I can chew, but I'm going to try my best! :) Again, many apologies! Hope you all understand! :)

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

~Skitty13


	17. Chapter 17

Inspiration

Chapter 17

Hi hi everyone!

What's up? :) I'm still alive! :P Just busy.

_Reviews-_

_Amazon Huntress: Thanks! I get what you mean, it's kind of scary putting things out there for people to criticize. No worries! You're not annoying! You seem really nice! :) Enjoy! :)_

_Leaffeather: Thanks! :)_

_guess who: Sorry! DX I'm glad you understand! :) Ahaha, I always have either a bunch of stories planned or going on. Have you seen my profile? I have a story planned out for next year, I'm just missing the shipping. Feel free to suggest! :)_

Big thanks to everyone else who supporting me and this story! Reviewers, favourites, follows, knowing you guys like it always puts a smile on my face. :) I'm sorry for taking a while to get things done, but I'll try my best to update again soon!_ :)_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the song lyrics used

* * *

Paul's POV

I shuffled through my papers before checking over the fine print and filing it away. My usually concentrated self was getting distracted. What by? A girl. Not just any girl, but that girl from my past.

Having finished all my work for class, I was trying to get some of the work for Platinum completed. My parents were overlooking both Reggie and I progress in help in company. I assume it was for their future successor, so I was working hard on proving my parents in choosing me.

That aside, the girl kept distracting me. The only thing that clued me to who her true identity was her appearance and the fact that I had seen her with Drew's mystery girl. Apparently both girls were great at hiding away and avoiding us. As the bell rang for lunch, I threw everything into my bag and left the classroom.

Drew was waiting by his locker just as he had for the past few days. It was only Wednesday, and he still hadn't been able to find that girl he was with at the dance.

"Paul," he greeted. "So, any progress?"

I shook my head.

"Well, we'll find her soon," Drew declared, as I noticed a swarm of girls starting to grow in the background. "There's only a couple hundred of girls in this school, one will be her."

I rolled my eyes at his logic. Sure, there were a couple hundred girls that could limit his search, but the one he was searching for obviously didn't want to get thrown in the media and their demanding needs. At least whoever she was, she wasn't seeking for fame.

"Have you found the girl you danced with yet?" Drew asked, hopeful. "If you did, maybe she could us who I'm looking for."

"Not yet," I answered. "Soon."

"Alright," Drew nodded. He looked around, scanning the crowds. "Hey, there's Jack."

Shifting my bag, I followed him as we walked over to where Jack was.

"Hey," Jack said, lifting his hand in greeting. "What's up?"

I shrugged, looking over at Drew.

"Still can't find the girl I'm looking for," Drew responded. "Do you have any idea who she might be?"

Jack paused, but shook his head. "Sorry."

"What's going on with you?" Drew asked, changing to conversation. "How are you and Vi doing?"

"Basketball regional championships next Tuesday, we won the game on Monday," Jack answered. "Well, Vi's been really busy all week, I think she might be stressing out over something. She's been doing nothing but work."

"Have you talked to her? Talking helps," Drew suggested.

"I'm trying to," Jack nodded. "I'm going try catching her after school." He looked down at his watch. "I should get going, I have another practice."

"Later!" Drew called out. "Should we head to the cafeteria?"

"Sure," I shrugged.

Considering how most people complain about food made in schools, this school's was decent. Both on health factors and taste. As we headed into the cafeteria, I noticed someone with blue hair. Thinking it she might be the girl, I instantly looking over at who it was. Then stopped in my tracks.

Troublesome was walking by with her friends. She had the same looks and personality of that girl from my past. I overlooked it the first time, since I wasn't sure, but everything was starting to fit together in my mind. There was no way that troublesome was her all along.

As much as I wanted to deny it, the facts were there.

Telling Drew I had something to do, I headed off to the library. Spotting Vi sitting at a table surrounded by books and papers, I walked over to her.

"Paul?" she looked up at me. "Can I help you?"

"Have you found anything about her?" I asked bluntly.

"A bit," Vi nodded, bookmarking her page and pulling out her laptop. "Do you know who she is?"

"I think... Troublesome," I answered.

She blinked, then quickly opened a document on her laptop. "Here. You might want to look at this."

I scanned over the content in the file. This was more than a bit. "Send this to me."

"Okay," Vi smiled. "I wished you the best of luck. Dawn only remembers a close childhood friend moved away when she was younger."

"Thanks," I said bluntly. Pausing, I then quickly added, "people worry about you."

"Huh?" she tilted her head in confusion.

I turned around to walk away. "I'm not the one to say this, but keep important people close to you. They'll be there when you need it."

Going back into my usual expressionless self, I started to walk away. Even though I was the one giving her advice, I felt like I should follow them myself. More importantly I had to check over that information.

May's POV

"This week is turning out really bad," I groaned, stabbing at my lasagna. "Why is it going by so slowly?"

"Don't take it out on the food," Ash said. "If you're not going to eat it, can I have it?"

"Sure," I pushed my plate over to him. "Enjoy."

"Is it really that bad?" Misty asked, looking at me concerned.

I sighed and nodded.

"I think I have to agree," Dawn agreed. I turned to look at her gloomy expression. "Ursula challenged me for the place of head cheerleader."

"Melody is being suspicious," Misty added, making a face.

"Brianna is annoying me, more than usual," I said, resting my head in my arms.

Just as I said that, she appeared. Great timing.

"Hello there, _May," _Brianna greeted, her voice sounding sickly sweet. A group of girls stood behind her, looking at me with distaste. "How are you?"

"Great," I chirped back. "Until you got here, that is."

"Good to hear," she responded, throwing a lock of her hair over her shoulder. "Now, I'm here to tell you, if you know _anything _about Drew's mystery girl, tell me."

I twitched, feeling annoyed. Across from me, I could sense Misty tensing up. I sent her a quick look, letting her know I was fine. "Why should I?"

She leaned in towards me, "For your own good."

Brianna pushed the open water bottle that was on the table, spilling all the water on me. In the midst of my anger, I dumped milk over her head.

"Get out of here!" I heard Misty growl, as Dawn handed me a few napkins.

Gasps filled the air, people probably finally noticed the commotion. Luckily, no teachers were around to witness anything.

Stepping back, Brianna glared at me, daggers and all. "Watch it, Maple."

"I'm not afraid of you," I said stubbornly.

At the sound of something being dropped, nearly everyone jumped at the sound. I turned to see Jack picking up his bag.

"Ha ha, sorry about that guys," he called out.

Chatter soon filled the air again, as Jack joined us and Brianna left. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Brianna step on a napkin and fall.

"I_ think_ I dropped that," Jack whispered, mischievous glint in his eye.

I smiled, knowing Jack had probably intentionally did that.

"That was eventful," Ash commented. "You okay, May?"

I looked down at myself, "Just wet. I'm fine though."

"Next time, I'm going to unleash the mallet on her," Misty exclaimed, fuming.

I laughed, feeling better since my friends were with me. "Feel free, Mist."

"I have a spare change of clothes in my locker," Dawn offered, trying to help me dry off. "Unless you want to freeze in the moment you step outside, I think you'll accept my offer."

"Thanks Dawn," I smiled, standing up. I looked over at Misty, Ash and Jack. "We'll be back in a few!"

Getting up, Dawn and I headed off to her locker. I scanned over my clothes to see how bad I looked. Luckily it was water and it was only on my t-shirt and jeans. As Dawn was opening her locker, I noticed a show fall on to me.

"You okay?"

Standing in front of me was Drew, looking at me concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded, looking away from his green eyes.

For the entire week, he hadn't even glanced my direction. I didn't want to him to find out it was me, at least not yet. Drew lingered around for a moment, and during that moment, I could feel him looking at me. Next to me, I felt Dawn nudge me.

"Well, alright," Drew nodded. "I... I'll see you around then."

Confused, I watched as he left leaving me alone with Dawn.

"He talked to you!" she squealed once he was out of earshot. "Do you think he knows?"

I shook my head. "How would he? He probably just being nice."

"Say what you want, but it won't change my thoughts," Dawn waved me off. "Let's go to the girls' change room."

Heading off to the change room, I found myself stuck with the thoughts of Drew. Was he closer to figuring out who I was than I anticipated?

Jack's POV

The bell rang, ending the long day. Stretching, I shoved my books into my bag before walking over to Vi. We had the same Tourism class for last period, so I was able to catch her before she vanished.

"Hey," I greeted, "are you busy?"

"Jack," Vi smiled, picking up her bag. "Well, I was planning on going for a jog, but I'm willing to change plans. Oh, did you win your game yesterday?"

"Good and we did," I said, smiling since she remembered. "I'll join you. We can talk and jog at the same time."

"Oh, okay," she nodded. As we walked out of the classroom, Vi looked as if she remembered something. "Dawn and Ash told me about the lunch incident. Was it that bad?"

"Pretty bad," I answered. "It'll be fine, we'll all be there for her."

Vi nodded, stopping by her locker to exchange a few textbooks. I quickly did the same, dropping off anything I didn't need. A few minutes later, we were jogging along the icy sidewalks. I kept an eye on Vi the entire time, knowing her, she was probably going to slip later.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" she asked, slowing her pace to a stride.

I matched her speed then spoke up. "You."

"Me?"

I took a deep breath of the cold air. "Is there something on your mind?"

"What... what do you mean?" Vi asked, her voice quiet and clouded. Stopping on her spot, her eyes were cast downwards, avoiding me.

I gently rested my hand on her shoulder then quietly sang, "_I don't wanna run away, just want to make your day. When you feel the world is on your shoulders. Don't wanna to make it worse, just wanna to make us work. Baby, tell me, I will do whatever."_

"Seriously? Using song lyrics?" she giggled, looking up at me.

"Why not?" I asked, grinning. "I like seeing you smile, so I'll do what it takes to keep you smiling."

Her happy laugh filled the air as I reached out to grab her hand. Managing to keep up the happy atmosphere, we ended up in the park. Heading straight to the desolated playground, Vi instantly headed to the swings.

I took a seat on the swing next to her. Despite being in high school, the two of us came to the park often. In fact, we came here so much, I called the swing set 'mood swings'. When Vi was feeling happy, sad, confused, she would always come here to try to think things through. If she was really upset, she would go for a run. It was kind of funny since, you can't actually run away from your problems.

Her sigh and the quiet squeaking sound of the swings was what reminded me what I was here for.

"What's wrong?" I whispered.

Her brown eyes wavered as she looked up at me. A letter from Oak Academy was held out to me. Taking it, I opened it and scanned the letter. Her voice was quiet, barely a whisper.

"I don't know what to do..."

?'s POV

I looked over my reflection and fixed my beanie. Ursula stood beside me, checking her nails.

"Can you believe what happened to Brianna during lunch?" she asked. "The nerves of that girl!"

"Mm," I shrugged, locking my locker. "How's your cheerleading plan going?"

Ursula tossed a lock of her hair over her shoulder. "Perfect. Friday is when the senior cheerleaders will decide which one of us is the better one."

"Your true intentions are what impress me," I smiled, walking along her.

"Takes one to know one," she exclaimed haughtily. "So, I hear you aren't after the guy anymore."

I nodded. "Lost interest, turned out he wasn't what I thought he was."

"You're over him now, think you can tell me now?" Ursula asked.

I shook my head. As much as I claimed and acted to like him for the past for years, that was all an act. Making my self the enemy was worth all the hard work now.

"It's a secret," I proclaimed. "We should go check Brianna, she'll probably have something she wants to tell us."

As we headed towards the front doors, I bunch of girls called out farewell to us. As we walked out into the chilly world outside, I caught a glimpse of green hair. Watching him from out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed Drew climbing into a car. It took a while since he was watching someone. Curiously I turned to see who it was. May Maple. Misty, Ash, and Dawn crowded around her.

Apparently she slipped on ice because Ash and Misty were helping her out.

"Be more careful!" Dawn exclaimed. "You don't want to get hurt again."

"No need to worry!' May laughed.

"That's when we need to start worrying," Ash said jokingly. "Right, Misty?"

Misty nodded, laughing.

Focusing back on the conversation I was having with Ursula, I started to conjure up the details for my plan. As we climbed into the ride Ursula had arranged, I grinned. There would be no way it would fail.

* * *

Mwahaha! I just had to add in that last line. Something is going on...! XD

Ooh, before I forget. The song lyrics were from 'Until You' by Shayne Ward. The lyrics were so sweet! I couldn't help it! :)

I'm kind of rushed at the moment, but I hope you guys liked this chapter!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to smile! :)

~Skitty13


	18. Chapter 18

Inspiration

Chapter 18

Happy holidays, guys! :)

Sorry for taking forever! DX

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Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Dawn's POV

"It's finally lunch!" I exclaimed, happily sitting down next to May.

"I know what you mean!" May agreed. "Finally time to eat!"

"I think Dawn's more glad for the break, May," Misty explained.

"Yeah," I nodded. "The stakes for being the junior head cheerleader was this morning."

"Well, I'm glad I get to eat, too," Ash announced, already taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"How did that go?" May asked, looking up from her pizza. "Did they pick you over Ursula?"

I thought back to earlier this morning. The older cheerleaders had tested us on all basic cheers and more. I somehow managed to complete them all, but so did Ursula.

"You both managed to complete all the cheers and practices," one of the girl said. "Good work."

"Yeah, well, who was better?" Ursula asked, arms crossed.

I played with my hands behind my back. I nervously reached up to wipe some of the sweat away. What were the results? No matter what happened, I decided I would stay on the team.

"You were equally good," Whitney answered, "but one of you did outshine the other. We all decided on one of you."

I held my breath. I had tried my best, there was nothing I could regret.

"Dawn."

My hands flew to my mouth, excitement starting to bubble. "Really? Are you serious?"

"Of course, your commitment to the team played a large role," a girl answered. "Good luck with the future cheers."

"Thank you," I breathed out.

Ursula cast me a glance but walked out as the others congratulated me. I had passed.

"They picked me," I answered. "I'm so glad."

"Good job!" Misty cheered.

"Yay!" May clapped her hands together.

I smiled, looking down at my food. Looks like the happiness was contagious, my tiredness was fading and was quickly replaced. I was lucky to have friends like them.

"Hey guys," Jack greeted walking over to our table with Vi hovering nearby.

"Hey," Ash exclaimed.

The moment we noticed him, our eyes were drawn to his right wrist. A compression wrap was on it, and that usually meant an injury. Vi's look of worry confirmed it.

"Did you get hurt or something?" I asked.

"Fell over and landed on it funny yesterday," Jack shrugged. "It's only a mild sprain. It'll only last a few days."

"Ouch," May commented.

"He's still planning on play the game on Tuesday," Vi exclaimed. "I don't think he can play like this."

"I have to play," Jack retorted, "the team relies on me."

The two stared at each other, probably on the brink of reaching a conflict.

Misty waved her hands in front of her. "Guys, if it's a mild injury, it'll be fine by Tuesday."

"Yeah, Vi, trust Misty on this," I piped up.

Vi sighed. "Fine, but I'm watching you, Frost!"

"Got it." Giving her a quick peck on the cheek, Jack smiled and started to eat his lunch.

"Congrats on stay head cheerleader," Vi congratulated me.

"Thanks," I smiled.

Talk about an eventful week. The weekend was finally coming up, I felt like I was finally get the break I needed. I mean how often in a week are we supposed to deal with this kind of drama. Deciding to change the topic to weekend which would keep the mood light and happy, I asked, "So, what's the plan for the weekend?"

"My place this weekend, right?" Jack asked.

"I think so," May nodded.

"We should go ice skating this weekend," Misty suggested. She cast Vi a glance. "It's pretty hands-free."

"I'm up for it," Ash piped up.

"Same here," I agreed.

"Sounds fun," May chirped.

Vi shrugged with a smile. "Majority rules."

"Then it's decided," Jack said. "We'll go to the ice rink tomorrow."

...

"Alright class," my art teacher said. "Time to clean up, ten minutes until the bell!"

May looked over at my painting. "You're nearly done."

"Mm," I nodded. "Nearly, I feel like it's missing something though."

Our recent project was a childhood memory. May had painted one of her past birthday cakes, claiming it was one of her sweetest memories. Mine was when I was sitting on the swing, at the park on a summer's day.

"Who's that?" May pointed to the shadowed figure standing behind me in the painting.

The person there was shaded, identity unknown, just like in my memory.

"I don't know," I answered. "I remember there was someone with me back then, I just can't figure out who."

Bringing out brushes and pallets to the sink, we washed up while we were at it. The bell rang, and everyone started to flood out of the room.

"Done yet, Dawn?" May called out, standing near the doorway.

"Nearly," I answered. "Go on ahead."

"Okay," she nodded. "I'll see by the front doors."

Putting away the brushes, I made sure I put each one back at the right spot. Seeing I was the last one in the room, I let out a sigh. Thank goodness it was finally the weekend. When I walked back to my painting, I noticed someone was standing in front of it, back turned to me.

"Paul?" I asked with recognition.

"Hn?" he turned to look at me. "You painted this?"

He gestured at my painting.

"Yeah," I nodded. "It's nearly finished."

He studied the painting for a minute. Without a word, he turned and left.

What was that about?

Picking it up, I put my painting away. Time to go meet May.

May's POV

I sat down on the school's front steps with my earbuds in, the song 'Hurry Up and Save Me by Selena Gomez' was playing. Gently tapping my finger to the beat, I watched as everyone started to leave.

Near one of the trees in front of the school, I noticed Vi and Jack standing around talking to a couple wearing uniforms. Vi had a hesitant expression, but agreed to whatever they said and left with the two people that were there. Jack had left the other way, tagging along with someone on his basketball team.

Deciding to ask about that later or tomorrow, something dangled in front of my face. My bracelet. Pulling out my earbuds, I looked up to who was holding it.

"I think this is your's," Drew said, dropping it into my hands.

"Thanks so much," I smiled, putting it back on. "I didn't even know I lost it."

Drew sat down next to me. "No problem. It took a while for me to figure out it was your's though."

"How did you find out?" I asked, looking over at him.

"The charm had your initials," he answered with a hair flick. "That and I heard about your dancing history."

Turning to study the ground, I let out a puff of warm air. "Well, you should know what I'll say next."

"You know what? We never had a proper introduction to each other," he said. He looked at me with a knowing expression.

I laughed, rolling my eyes. Deciding to go along with introductions, I held out my hand.

"Nice to meet you," I greeted. "I'm May Maple."

"Pleasure to meet you, April," he responded with a cocky smile. "If you didn't know, I'm Drew Hayden. Does it ring any bells?"

"No, it doesn't," I answered. "Anyone tell you that you're arrogant before, grasshead?"

"Nah, I'm too charming for that," Drew waved me off. "Back to the main topic. You were good enough to go pro, why did you quit?"

I thought back to the night I hurt my ankle. "Personal reasons."

"May?"

I turned around, spotting Dawn looking at me. Her eyes widened at the sight of who I was sitting with. For some reason, I knew she instantly regretted interrupting the moment. Standing up, I was about to hurry towards her to stop potential squealing when Drew grabbed my wrist.

"We should talk more," Drew suggested. "You seem nice."

"Oh," I said, unsure how to respond. "Um. Well..."

"We're going to the ice rink tomorrow," Dawn exclaimed, joining the conversation. "You should join us! I'm sure you can get to know May more there."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, maybe," Drew coolly nodded. "Later."

Frozen in my spot with shock, I was practically dragged off by an overly bubbly Dawn.

"Oh my goodness," she sang out. "That there, was definitely adorable."

"Did that just happen?" I asked quietly.

Dawn nodded, grinning.

I paled, trying to figure out what to do.

Misty's POV

I walked home with Ash, hand entwined with his.

"Do you want to come over to my place?" Ash asked. "My mom says you can stay over and have dinner with us."

"Really?" I asked, smiling. "Thanks. I'll come over after I swim."

"Another practice?" he asked. "You've been practicing all week."

I shrugged, "Practice makes perfect, right?"

"Well, okay," Ash smiled. "Don't work too hard."

I laughed as we made our way to my house, I felt my phone vibrate. Digging around in my bag, I pulled it out. Looking at the caller, I picked up the call.

"Hey Vi," I greeted.

"Hi, Mist!" her voice sounded like she was trying to sound happy. "How's it going?"

"Good," I answered, pulling Ash over so he could listen as well. "I'm with Ash right now."

"Ooh, good! My parents accidentally ordered too many cakes, do you guys want one?" she asked.

"I'll take one!" Ash exclaimed.

"Mm, same here," I nodded. "Thanks, Vi!"

"No prob," Vi answered. "I think I'll be over in ten or fifteen min―"

The sounds of a phone fall and muffled noises followed. I turned to look at Ash confused. He shrugged, looking as mystified as I was.

"Hello? Vi?" I asked. Static filled the phone before I hung up. "Should I call back?"

Ash nodded. "Phone calls usually don't end like that."

Quickly clicking my phone to call her back, the message went straight to voicemail.

"Well, that was strange," I remarked. "I'm going to get some practice in now."

Ash helped me get my keys and carry my bag into my house. After getting everything all set down, he looked over at me. "I'll see you at dinner, right?"

"Mhm," I nodded, I gave him a quick peck. My cheeks flushed red as I looked away. "See you then."

He grinned, and I watched him leave. Shutting the door, I took a deep breath. Time to see if I could improve yesterday's record.

Jack's POV

I fumbled with the ball as I tried to shoot with my left hand. Benga quickly intercepted the bouncing basketball and easily sunk a basket.

"What with the sudden practice, Frost?" Benga asked, spinning the ball on his finger. He looked over at me, as I clenched my hands into fists. "Your wrist will heal by then, I don't see the problem."

I held up my hand, and caught the ball before throwing it. Another rebound. Running over to catch it, I dribbled with my left hand.

"I get what your saying," I said, passing it back over to him. "But it's city championships. Messing up is unforgivable. Mild sprains take a while, and I don't want to disappoint anyone."

"So you don't want to look bad in front of your girl?" Benga asked, getting a rebound as well.

I chuckled, thinking of Vi when she came to one of our games. When she was able to come, she spent part of the time worrying over my safety while the majority supporting me. No matter how badly I my shot or pass would end up, she was always telling me how well I was playing. I was lucky to have her around.

"Not really, you've seen Vi. She's always so supportive."

"What's the reason then?" he asked. I watched as the ball rolled around the rim, then fall in.

"Problems," I answered. Taking the basketball, I stood at the three point line. Bouncing it twice, I tossed it. "I'm trying to stop one before it grows."

The ball went in, swish.

High-fiving Benga, I turned away to rub my wrist. I couldn't let Vi worry about my problem, she had a lot on her plate already. No one needed to know it was on the brink of being more than mild if I didn't rest it.

Heading back home, I noticed Vi's familiar figure walking ahead of me by a bit. I was going to call out to her when I noticed a guy walking beside her. Someone I didn't recognize. Watching them from afar, I saw her happily chat with him until they walked into her house.

Who was he?

* * *

LOL. Jack's jealous? XD

I feel like I started a bunch of things while writing this chapter... Sidetracked! :P

Anyways, I think I managed to hint away or show most of the shipping. :)

I wish you all another year full of smiles and happiness!

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful year!

~Skitty13


	19. Chapter 19

Inspiration

Chapter 19

My exams are finished for this semester! Woo hoo! XD

I'm finally free of studying, guys! Which means, free time! Here's an update. Enjoy!

_Reviews-_

_Ern Estine 13624: Thank you. :) Hope you enjoy!_

_Contestshipper16: Yeah! Ikarishipping and contestshipping are in motion! :D Hehe, things are getting interesting. :)_

_Sakura Touko: Cool, thanks! :) Happy 2015! :)_

_deant33: Vi's been invited to go, she still hasn't decided yet. Haha, really? Well, thanks! I hope you enjoy!_

_guess who: I did stay up until midnight. I was so tired the next day. :) So worth it. Yeah, Drew knows now. :) He was able to return her bracelet to her after all. :D_

_Amazon Huntress: :) Really? Cool! I'm sure you'll figure it out. :) No worries! You're not invading anything. My Christmas was filled with sweets, I was bouncing off the walls. XD Did your holiday go well? :)_

_ Ama Zon: Hey! :) I sure you had a fun vacation. :) Hehe, no prob! She's sweet! :) Not much going on here, just the usual drama._

_KicksAndKisses: Thanks for the reviews! Haha, Paul's mysterious personality... He could get away with a lot of things at this rate. XD You'll see! Enjoy!_

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Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Violet's POV

I sat at the bottom of the stairs, lingering, as I tapped the edge of the notebook that rested on my lap. I had initially planned to study on some of my sister's old notes, but I found myself more distracted by a certain presence. A presence I had missed for the past few years.

"Does it taste okay?" mom asked, her voice drifting in from the kitchen. "Is it sweet enough? Too sweet?"

"It's great," he answered. "I can't believe I missed your cooking all these years, mom."

I found myself straining to listen to him. Yesterday when I first saw him, I nearly tackled him down, tears welled up in my eyes. I guess not having him around for the past few years hurt more than I thought. Looking down at the notes one more time, I let out a frustrated sigh and shut the notebook. I couldn't concentrate.

Trudging up the stairs, I was about to go into my room when I noticed a group of people from the window in the hallway. Peeking out of it, realization hit me. I was suppose to meet up with everyone for our usual weekend get together. I pressed my ear to the glass, trying to make out the sounds of the conversation.

"We could try messaging her," Ash suggested.

"Already tried that," May answered. "She hasn't responded."

I cringed, thinking back to yesterday. During the shock of seeing him again, my phone probably shut off, and I forgot to turn it back on since.

"That's weird," Dawn commented, as they cut across the lawn from Jack's house to mine. We were going to meet at Jack's house today, so it was no surprise to see them here so quickly, we were neighbours. "Do you know anything, Jack?"

Jack shrugged, mumbling something I wasn't able to hear. His darkening expression worried me. Was there something wrong?

I clutched the notebook closer to my chest as I rushed into my room. Dropping it onto my desk, I pulled on my beanie and searched around for my favourite purple scarf.

Ding dong!

Snatching it out of my closet, I headed to the stairs when I heard voice coming from the front door. I slowed down my steps, spotting him at the door with my friends.

"Who are you?" Dawn asked, looking confused. "Are you the guy Jack saw with Vi yesterday?"

"I'm her b—" he started.

"Boyfriend?" May instantly gasped.

I bit my lip in amusement, I knew my friends were protective of me, since I was the youngest out of the group. Shaking off the thought, I took a step to go greet my friends. In the process, I didn't notice a step and suddenly went tumbling down the stairs.

"Ow..." I groaned. I looked up, seeing everyone's eyes on me. "Hi guys... Sorry I forgot about our plans."

Immediately, Jack rushed over. "You okay?"

"Yup!" I nodded, getting back up onto my feet with his help.

"Old habits die hard," a chuckled immediately responded. "I thought you grew out of your lack of balance."

"Who are you?" Ash asked, gesturing to him.

I took a deep breath, looking over to his familiar brown eyes. "Guys, meet Phoenix... My twin brother."

"What?!" everyone exclaimed. Shock immediately filled their faces. Then again, who wouldn't be shocked by this kind of news.

"I need to sit down for this," Dawn declared, heading into the living room. Everyone followed her, Phoenix and I going in last.

Phoenix sent me a questioning look. "You never told them?"

"Well, I kind of closed off everyone after you left," I whispered. "It never came up."

May gave me a smile. "Care to explain?"

I nodded. This was going to take a while.

...

"So you've been studying aboard for the past few years, so that's why none of us know you," Misty summarized after I explained everything. "And you're back because you're on vacation."

Phoenix nodded. "Exactly, I'm surprised Vi hasn't told you guys earlier. I'm disappointed in you, Vi."

"Sorry," I looked down, feeling uncomfortable. "I should've told you all sooner."

I glanced over at Jack, noticing he seemed to have relax. His dark mood from earlier vanished. Whew, I don't know what I would do if he didn't accept this.

Back when I was younger, I followed Phoenix around a lot. It was like I had become his shadow. No one really questioned it, it was expected for twins to be close. So when I had found out Phoenix wanted to study aboard, I started to close off from people. After that, I just stopped trying to be friends with anyone. A fear of being left. In the process, I spent all my time studying and being alone. Jack refused to give up on me during this time, and eventually helped me open back up again. That along with long distance calling.

"It's okay," May reassured.

"Yeah!" Dawn nodded. "Let's start over." She smiled at Phoenix. "Nice to meet you, I'm Dawn!"

"I'm Misty," Misty waved. She gestured to Ash. "And this is my boyfriend."

"I'm hungry," Ash declared. He stopped, realizing what was happening. "Oh! Yeah! I mean, my name is Ash!"

Laughing it off, Jack continued the introduction. "I'm Jack."

"Vi's boyfriend!" Dawn added, grinning.

Phoenix looked at me with a eyebrow raised. I blushed, unable to meet his gaze.

"Hey! Weren't we going to go ice skating?" I exclaimed, jumping up. Grabbing Jack's hand, I pulled him up and started to usher everyone else to get up as well. "We should get going! Want to come with us, Phoenix?"

"Yeah, sure," Phoenix nodded, looking at Jack. "I'll come along."

"Wait!" Ash yelped. "I want to eat something first!"

Dawn's POV

As we were walking to the ice rink, I walked next to May and Vi. Misty and Ash were happily walking together ahead of us while Jack and Phoenix trailed behind us.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us about your charming twin brother," I exclaimed, in a hushed whisper. "I'm so jealous, but then again, if I did have a brother like that, I wouldn't want to share."

May laughed. "What Dawn's trying to say, is Phoenix seems nice."

"Do you think he's nice enough to give Jack the okay with us dating?" Vi asked, nervously glancing back at the guys walking behind us.

Behind us, Phoenix was giving Jack the protective brother talk to dating his sister. I didn't have any brothers, so I only knew about this from the time Max scared away some guy who nearly confessed to May. It was kind of sweet.

"No need to worry," I said. "You and Jack are perfect together, he won't split you two up."

Vi sighed, nodding. "I hope so."

"Hey, guys," Misty turned to look at us, stopping in her tracks. "Who do we know has green hair, sings and travels around with his purple haired manager?"

"What?" May gasped. She looked ahead of us and hid behind Vi. "He came...!"

"Who?" Ash asked, turning back. "Drew and Paul, right?"

"Who else?" Misty asked.

"Wait, they're both here?" I tilted my head. Spotting them in the distance, I squealed, jumping up and down while clapping my hands. "We're going to see some sparks fly today!"

Managing to pull May with me, I happily made my way over to Drew and Paul. I could sense various emotions coming from my friends behind me.

"Hi!" I greeted, with a wave. "Nice to see you decided to come join us, Drew. You too, Paul."

Paul let out a grunt while Drew casually waved it off.

"I had free time, so I thought I'd come along," Drew shrugged. "Hello there, October."

May flinched, casting him a look. "It's actually May."

"My bad, June," Drew teased.

May sent him a glare before giving me a sorrowful look. "Did you really have to invite him?" she asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

I pulled on a grin and nodded. "You get to spend more time with your dance partner, so, yes! Think about it, May, he's been trying to find you for the past week."

Misty appeared next to us and pat May's shoulder. "You'll be fine, maybe he's nicer than what his ego makes him appear to be."

"He's a pop star!" May protested in a hushed whisper.

"He's human, like us." Vi responded. "Relax."

Giving her a little push forward, I smiled in hope of good results.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go skate!" Ash exclaimed, pulling Misty with him.

Exchanging shrugs, the rest of us followed the two into the skating rink building to go borrow skates. I took my time choosing the right colour of skates and watched everyone start heading to the rink. May was bickering with Drew over something trivial, Ash and Misty were joking around together, while Jack, Phoenix and Vi seemed to have a compromise sorted out. Feeling like I missed someone, I turned to see Paul lacing up his skates next to me.

"Oh. Paul, I thought you went on ahead," I said.

Paul gave a half-hearted shrug, "Hn."

Judging by the way he took his time and waited beside me, I decided to ask him the question.

"Were... Are you waiting for me?"

"You finally noticed," Paul muttered. He gave me a stern look. "I need to talk to you."

"You do...?" I looked at him, feeling shocked and confused. What did Paul have to talk about with me? "Can we skate and talk?"

He nodded, walking ahead.

Once we were on the ice, Paul pulled out his phone and showed me a picture. A picture of me and a friend when I was younger.

"Where did you get this picture from?" I asked, examining it. "Why do you have a picture of me?"

"Does it matter?" Paul retorted. "It's also a picture of me. You just happen to be there."

I stared at the photo, noticing the familiar look of disinterest on the young boy's face. Noticing the park swing in the background, everything started to click into place. I had a childhood friend, someone I was really close to when I was younger. The memory was faint, I had nearly forgot about it until Vi asked me a while back.

"Wait, you were my childhood friend who moved away?" I asked, stopping on the spot.

Paul gave me a look of disbelief. "You finally remember?"

"Come on, Paul! Let's go play on the swings!" I cheered, nudging him.

Paul nodded and followed me to the swing set.

My eyes widened, finally able to make the connection between him and my painting.

Paul pulled me aside from the busy rink, stopping me from getting in the way of the other skaters.

"Oh... my... goodness..." I whispered, hand covering my mouth in shock. "It was you?"

Paul nodded.

"How long have you known?" I asked, dropping a hand to the railing to keep me from falling. This new information was making my knees feel weak.

"Not long." Paul answered directly. "I've been searching for a you since we came back."

I looked at his usual expression and cautiously pulled him into a hug. As expected, he stiffened but relaxed after a moment and awkwardly returned my hug. He use to be like that whenever I hugged him as well. This brought back memories.

I felt him rest his hand on top of my head, I looked up at him.

"I'll be back for you one day," he said.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"You kept your promise," I mumbled. "You came back."

Paul didn't say anything, but I felt comforted by his silence.

"We need to get together and hang out more often," I declared. "As much of an ice cube you are, you're still a friend."

Paul shrugged, but nodded half-heartedly. "Can't have you forgetting me again." he mumbled before taking off.

"Hey!" I called out, skating after him. "Wait for me!"

* * *

Yay! I finished! :D

I managed to sneak in some ikarishipping! :) And set up for some potential contestshipping. The next chapter will have some more story progression.

I'm pretty sure you guys noticed, but this story has quite a few mistakes scattered in it. I'll be editing the older chapters in the next few days, I'll hopefully catch most of them.

Anyways, keep being the amazing people you are! I like hearing feedback on how you guys like it so far. :)

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

~Skitty13


	20. Chapter 20

Inspiration

Chapter 20

First off, huge apologizes to those reading this. It's been a while, and lots has been going on. I've gotten stuck and a writer's block on this story a few times, but I finally satisfied with the results of this chapter. :) Again, sorry about the delay! (-.-)"

Ern Estine 13624: Thank you, sorry for the wait! :)

Nighttyger: Yay! Thank you! Ah, well FF does have some issues sometimes... Hope you've been doing well. :)

Sakura Touko: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. :)

KicksAndKisses: YES! They are. :3 Ikarishipping is adorable. Sorry for taking for long!

Leaffeather: Haha, of course not! Surprise? :) Haha, Phoenix making an appearance in this story surprised me as well. Ahaha...

Contestshipper16: Yes! More shipping moments to come! :) Thanks! Enjoy!

Amazon Huntress: I see. Hope you enjoyed your summer! Sorry for taking forever. (-.-)

Ama Zon: Really? Aw, how cute! I'm hoping you enjoyed your summer as well. :) Cool! Thanks for the follow. :)

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born on CS day: Hi! :) Haha, I'm no expert. :P I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to do it. I've a lot going on, so I don't think I ca take on another fandom... I'm really sorry. :( I'm sure someone out there will write them for you. :) Thanks though!

Guest: Aw, thanks to you too! I'm glad you're enjoying this story. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

May's POV

After Drew and Paul invited themselves to our weekly outing, we went to go grab our skates and everyone seemed to go off on their own. Misty and Ash headed off, holding hands and bickering playfully. Vi, Phoenix and Jack were together, probably catching up on things they missed out since Phoenix has been gone. By the way Vi was hovering next to Jack, she was still very concerned about his sprained wrist. So, that just left Dawn, Paul, Drew and me. When I had finished lacing up my skates, I started to head over to Dawn but Drew intercepted my path.

"Aren't you heading into the rink, March?" he asked, crossing his arms. He flashed his signature smirk, and I stopped for a moment to admire then snapped out of it, seeing the words he said finally sunk in.

"I was," I retorted, noticing Dawn talking to Paul. Maybe I should leave those two alone for now, whatever they were talking about had to be important seeing how serious they both looked... Wait a second. "My name is May! It's only three letters long. How many times do I have to tell you to get it into your head?!"

"Sorry!" Drew held his hands up mockingly. "I can't remember all my fan girls' names."

Huffing, I could hear him scrambling to follow me out onto the rink. Although I was pretending he had offended me, I was actually trying to figure out what was going on right now. He was pop star, yet here he was talking to me. How did this end up happening? I mean, what happened at the dance was completely coincidental wasn't it? Did everything that happened end up leading to this?

No matter what was the leading cause to whatever was going on right now, having a pop star I admired since before his first song release was skating next to me, seemed unbelievable. Sure I had a crush on him a while back, but I was over it, wasn't I?

With all my thoughts racing through my mind, I nearly jumped when Drew nudged my arm.

"So, February," Drew said, breaking the silence. "How long have you been dancing?"

"Since I was really young, probably since I was three," I answered, thinking back to my childhood filled with dance classes. I smiled, knowing back then I was happy doing what I loved. "Everyone has a method to express how they feel, mine was dancing."

"Was," he repeated in disbelief, exaggerating over the one word. Was he trying to make a point? "I've seen you dance, once. In fact, I was dancing with you. You're talented. You know, you could keep going and become a famous dancer."

"Like you?" I joked, nudging his shoulder and skating ahead in a quick glide. Drew stumbled a little but quickly caught up. "I'm not sure dancing is my thing any more."

Drew shook his head. "That can't be."

I sighed, turning my gaze to the ice. As much as I tried to deny it, Drew was right. The main reason I stopped was because people kept getting under my skin. Even when it wasn't a competition, a simple compliment from the dance teacher would send daggers and glares of jealousy my direction. I didn't have many friends in my dancing classes, but there was a reason for that. Brianna was also in my class, so when she gave me the cold shoulder, so did everyone else.

Then came the incident that caused me to sprain my ankle. It was the final blow, and I just didn't want to deal with the looks from everyone else anymore. So I quit.

Sadly, Brianna still has it out for me. I'm not even sure why...

"Well, my friends seem to think the exact same way as you. Maybe you should join them in trying to convince me to dance again," I joked, brushing off my thoughts.

"Maybe I will," Drew responded thoughtfully. Pulling off the thinking pose, he pretended to consider my words before nodding. "Sounds like a good cause."

My eyes widened in disbelief.

"What?! I was joking!" I exclaimed, waving my hands in denial in front of me.

"I'm not," Drew said, looking determined. "I think they're on the right track, it's going to be worth it in the long run."

I crossed my arms, shaking my head. "Enough talking about me, how about you? Why are you on a break? You're a world famous pop star, and you're going back to school. Why?"

Drew raised a finger to his lips, eyes flickering around to see if anyone overheard me. He reached up to adjust his hat.

"You want to know?" he asked, green eyes boring into mine.

"I don't think I'm the only one who wants to know," I prodded encouragingly.

He let out a sigh, a cloud of his breath drifted up into the air. "Well... the truth is I—"

The sound of a ringtone interrupted his words, stopping him. Drew gave me an apologetic look before pulling out his phone from his pocket.

"Hello, Eve?"

He skated aside to continue his call and gestured for me to follow. Stopping, I looked around at all the people skating around in the ice rink. Out of all the people here, the Drew Hayden was here with me. Of all the possible things he could be doing, he was spending his time with me. I wasn't sure whether to feel privileged or pitied. I watched him, trying to guess what he was going to confess before his phone call with Eve interrupted.

Speaking of Eve, who was she? I remember hearing her name somewhere before...

"Sorry, my manager called. Just reminding me about a meeting," Drew explained. He waved it off like it didn't really matter. "I'll deal with it later."

Ah, so Eve was his manager, that's where I heard her name. Thinking back to the dinner I helped out at the Wakana residence, I guess she was the one at the dinner with him then. She seemed friendly enough, although a bit persuasive. If she was calling, wouldn't it be important though?

"Are you sure? I don't want to be blamed if anything happens to you," I said as we started to skate again.

"Yeah, totally." Drew grinned. "Besides, this is nice."

I tilted my head questioningly. This was nice?

"I don't get much time to just be like a regular teenage guy," he elaborated, explaining his previous statement. "After being discovered a few years back by Platinum, I've always been busy with touring, concerts, practices... It only looks easy. Being with you like this right now, it feels different, in a nice way. After all, I'm just here to keep it real."

I chuckled, hearing him use his catch phrase. "Sounds hard, considering who you are."

"Terribly hard," Drew joked, fanning himself. He smiled when I laughed, then shrugging his shoulders, he continued. "I want to see what's it's like to live normally. Think you can help me?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I could, but why me?"

"You and your friends seem nice," he said, then winked. "Besides while I'm at it, perhaps I can convince you join my dance competition, Inspiration."

"You're still trying?" I asked, exasperated. "Can we all just get over it?"

Drew shook his head, amused by my upset expression. If he thinks being famous will give him any leverage in convincing me otherwise, he's so wrong...

"I still haven't released to the public about who I was dancing with on Valentine's day," Drew mumbled thoughtfully. I instantly froze, remembering how everyone reacted to that news. The green haired guy next to me smirked knowingly. "If you join, I won't tell anyone."

I crossed my arms, pouting. Never mind. So he was able to use his fame to convince me... Darn it. I didn't want the public to know who I was, so he didn't leave me much choice.

"Fine." I agreed, grumbling. "You make very unfair deals."

Drew just chuckled, and reached over to ruffle my hair. Protesting, I watched as he skated ahead and catching up to where Phoenix, Jack and Vi were. As the guys skated on ahead, I caught up to Vi and bumped shoulders with her. Stumbling slightly, she let out a squeak of surprise as she reached out to grab my arm to steady herself.

Gasping for air, she looked at me with wide eyes. "Thanks a lot, May."

"No problem," I responded, grinning.

When it came to sports out of the four of us, Misty was the best, Dawn and I were somewhere in between, while Vi to struggled. Despite how different we all were, I was always glad we had each other.

"Turns out Phoenix knew Drew when they younger," Vi said, as we watching the guys joke around ahead of us. "I never knew since I always stuck around Jack when Phoenix was busy."

"Huh," I murmured. Drew had grown up with us and none of us noticed him as much until he became famous. I glanced over to see Dawn hugging Paul. "I guess today's a day for reuniting?"

Vi nodded, then said, "Nothing last forever. We might as well cherish the time we get to be together while we can."

We skated up to catch up to the guys and soon everyone else joined us. Dawn was absolutely radiant as she explained her history with the ice cube, Paul. Turns out he was the one mysteriously haunting her memories without her knowing for so long.

Later when we decided to leave, Drew and Paul part ways with us. As Drew was leaving, I could clearly smirking at me all the while mouthing the words, 'Don't forget our deal!' The rest of guys went off with Ash to buy some snacks, which left the four of us.

"So, is there something going on between you and Drew, May?" Dawn asked, in a happy tune.

I flushed, shaking my head. "No! I mean, I'm not even sure if we're friends yet."

"Judging by how close you two seemed at the rink, maybe more than friends," Misty declared teasingly.

"Guys!" I protested, trying to stop their teasing.

The phone in Misty's hand vibrated, alerting her of a message. Her eyebrows furrowed up in confusion.

"Ash got a text," she said, swiping at the phone. Her face hardened as she grit her teeth. "It's from Melody."

"What does it say?" Dawn asked, worried.

"She wants to meet up with Ash for a project tomorrow," Misty read off the device. "Remember, don't tell Misty." She looked up annoyed. "What does that mean?"

We all exchanged a look, wondering what to say. Melody like Ash, so this message did sound a bit suspicious.

Vi then spoke up hesitantly, "Maybe it's a secretive project."

"I doubt that," Misty countered, looking down at Ash's phone sadly.

"Melody's only saying that," I piped up. "Ash won't keep any secrets from you. He'll explain if you ask."

"There's Ash now," Dawn chimed in, point to Ash. In his arms were a bunch of snacks.

Spying my favourite type of chips, I quickly snatched it when he was within arms length. Opening it, I popped a chip into my mouth and offered some back to Ash. I glanced at Misty then tilted my head towards Ash. She looked worried, but shook her head.

"If there's nothing going on between him and Melody, he'll tell me about this himself," she whispered to me. Holding out Ash's phone for him, Ash accept it and started to check it.

Unsure what to say, I just nodded.

I just hoped nothing bad would happen between two of my closest friends.

* * *

Dun, dun, dun! So, nothing's going on... right? :D

Haha, anyways, how are you all doing? I know I took a long time to update, but no worries! Next update won't take as long. :)

I'll see you all next chappie~!

Thanks for reading and have a fabulous day!

~Skitty13


	21. Chapter 21

Inspiration

Chapter 21

Welcome back to Inspiration! :) Sorry for the lack of updates last year. :( But this is going to be the year! I'm determined to finish this story by this year. To make up for missing out so much, I'm going to be revealing the mysterious character finally! Anyways, continuing with the usual routine.

_Reviews-_

_Ern Estine 13624: Thanks for sticking with my story! :)_

_Sterlingstarz: Thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter, too! :)_

_Leaffeather: His presence was intended, I just wasn't sure if he would show up in the story. Enjoy! :)_

_Flik98: Aw, thank you! :)_

_QUEENSPELLER67: Platinum in this story is going to be a company. Haha, I forgot there was character with the same name. Oops. XD_

_RandomGuest: Sorry! Here's the update!_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Violet's POV

The tension during lunch today had been thick, I was sure anyone within a two meter circumference around our lunch table was able to feel it. After seeing that message from Melody, Misty and Ash seemed to have some distance between them. At least on Misty's side of the situation, Ash still wasn't aware that Misty knew about the message and their plans.

Although the message seemed to have a deeper meaning, I knew it the plan was quite simple.

After that, the rest of weekend passed by rather quickly. Dawn had spent some more time with Paul, Drew was busy with preparations with his dance competition, Misty had more swim practice, and Jack had dragged out Ash and Phoenix for more basketball practice with me studying while hovering nearby to make sure everything was okay.

With the basketball game on Tuesday evening, I really hoped he didn't hurt himself in the process of practicing for the game.

Back to the present, I wasn't sure if things were improving or getting worse now. The morning had quickly passed by and we were all now gathered together eating lunch. Or at least, most of us.

"I need to go the library," Ash suddenly said, standing up and tossing his garbage into the trash. "I have some work to finish up, I'll see you guys later."

"See you," May responded, giving him a small wave before biting into her apple.

"Later," Jack called out.

Misty merely nodded acknowledging she had heard his declaration of departure. Dawn and I shared a concerned look, someone needed to get her to talk about what was going on. Dawn moved closer to Misty, talking to her hushed whispers. The sound of an incoming message on my phone caused me to freeze.

"I need to use the bathroom," I mumbled to Jack. "I'll be right back."

"Alright," Jack said, then paused. "Do you know what's going on between Ash and Misty? Something seems off."

I gave him a shrug before slipping off out of the cafeteria. Deep in thought as I walked down the hallways, I checked the message. Heading to the instructed classroom, the deserted hallways made it feel more suspicious. Knocking on the door, I heard the voice of the person who messaged me.

"Come in."

Pushing the door open, I looked at the brunette and closed the door behind me. Walking over, I gingerly sat myself on the edge of a desk next to hers. Trying to find the right thing to say, it felt like the words weren't forming properly to make a sentence.

"So?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Are you sure this meddling is a good idea?" I asked, blurting out my thoughts. "I mean, I know you're intentions are good, but I don't like seeing my friends hurt like this."

"Are you backing out now?"

I shook my head, denying her words. "Look, I'm glad for contributions for the school newspaper and strive to help people, but are you sure about this? I mean, there's so much going on and I'm not even sure if..."

I paused my rambling when she lifted her hand.

"Violet, look I know you have a lot going on," she said. "But this plan is carefully calculated, planned a few months ago even. Once it's all over, their relationship will improve, I promise."

Sighing, I slowly nodded. Her plans have yet to fail and I trusted her.

"Fine, Melody. Just make sure no one gets hurt."

Melody nodded, flipping some of her hair over her shoulder. "Of course. I should get back to Ash, we need to finish that assignment. It was so last minute." Making a face, she then pulled on a smile. "I'll take care of it, everything will work out."

Leaving the classroom, she left me alone to my thoughts. I wasn't sure how things were going to end up, but Melody was right, I had lots going on that I still needed to deal with.

May's POV

Just as Vi left, Paul and Drew showed up. Flashing his famous smirk my way, I playfully rolled my eyes and moved over to make space for him to sit down. Paul had slid into the seat next to Dawn.

"Think you'll be ready for the dance competition?" Drew asked, nudging my shoulder.

"How long has it been since you convinced me to join?" I asked in return, emphasizing on the time that passed by. "Barely even forty eight hours, there's no way I can pull off a routine in that time. The only thing I have been able to do is sign up."

"That's a good start," Drew responded with a nod.

"Congrats on being able to convince May to dance again," Dawn chirped in, giving Drew a smile. "We tried bribing her with cupcakes, and even that barely worked."

Taking a bite of my pizza, I started to think about the possible routines I that I've done before giving up on dancing. Besides that one day where Vi had dragged me off to the dance studio, I hadn't danced since my last practice before the dance competition in September. The dance competition that caused me to hurt my ankle.

Just as I finished off my slice of pizza and reached out for my second one, someone snatched it out of my hand. I instantly turned to see the green haired pop star taking a bit from my former piece of pizza.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms. "You did not just take my pizza."

I could feel everyone's attention turn my way. Obviously, all my friends knew what happened when someone took my food.

Drew glanced over at them and then back at me. After slowly chewing and swallowing his food, he pointed down at my plate. "You still have another piece, don't worry."

"Drew," Jack said, his amusement was trying to be concealed by his concerned look. "May loves her food. Taking it without her offering is dangerous."

"Someone has a death wish," Misty quietly sang, causing an exchange of looks between everyone.

Drew awkwardly laughed, then paused seeing my expression. By the look he was giving me, I could tell he didn't want to feel my wrath. I hope he had a plan, otherwise, this wouldn't be good for him either way.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. "Um... how about this? I'll buy you something today after school?"

Everyone was holding their breath, anticipating for my response. I uncrossed my arms and picked up my last slice of pizza.

"Fine."

Drew let out a sigh of relief, and the tension of the group seemed to fade.

"Good. It's a date then."

I flushed pink, hear those words from Drew. Nearby us, a muffled squeal came from Dawn, and I turned to see Misty covering her mouth. Looking around, I sighed when I saw that no one else had heard him say it besides our table.

Drew shot me a look. "What?"

"Nothing," I answered. "I just didn't want any of your fans to hear that. After what happened with whole Find Cinderella incident on the week after Valentine's Day, I don't want to be pulled into the spotlight yet." I paused, seeing his raised eyebrow then hastily added. "It'll look bad before the competition begins."

The green haired pop star shrugged, but nodded in agreement. Exchanging smiles with me, we both went back to eating our pizza. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vi quietly slip back into the seat next to Jack. Whatever happened when she left obviously was affecting her, seeing her anxious look was not going away with her forced smile.

"Vi," I quietly called out to her, leaning forward in my seat. "Did you decide what you're going to do about the offer from Oak Academy?"

Earlier last week, Jack had taken the chance to explain to us about Vi's indecision of being offered a position in our rival school. Since she had received the letter, she had been stressing over the issue. Although their school had slightly better academic programs, both schools were competitive about being the top school of Petalburg City.

"I talked to Phoenix about it," Vi said, taking a sip from her water bottle. "He told me to follow my heart, do what I think is right. He's always so sure of himself, confident in what he wants to do. I guess that why I admire him so much, besides the fact he's my older brother."

I nodded in understanding. Decisions were hard to make, seeing it took me the entire time my ankle was hurt for me to decide to stop dancing.

"Whatever you decide, I'll support you," I answered, reaching over and giving her hand a squeeze.

She smiled, thanking me.

Hearing the bell ring, we all started cleaning up and heading off to our afternoon classes. Just as I was about to leave, Drew grabbed my arm. I turned to look at him, cocking my head to the side slightly.

"I'll meet you at your locker after school?" he asked. I nodded, ready to head off, but he still had his hand on my arm. "Uh, where's your locker?"

"I messaged you it," I exclaimed, brushing off his hand while giving him a smile. I hurried my pace so I wouldn't be late. "I'll see you then!"

During the next few periods, my mind kept drifting back to the idea of spending time with Drew after school. Hanging out and letting him experience being normal was apart of my end of the deal, so spending time with Drew was okay, right? By the time my last class came around, I was feeling kind of giddy. Seeing that my had caught up in all the assignments in our art class, so we had a free period basically.

Dawn was searching up some information and sudden elbowed me.

"Look at this!" she exclaimed, pointing at the computer screen. "Do you know how Drew became a pop star?"

"Mostly," I mumbled, moving over to look at the screen. It was a blog post, going over all the basic details that caused Drew to rise to fame.

...

The Road to Fame

Written by Singing Sensation

We all know the famous Drew Hayden with his singing and dancing skills, but do you all know how he rose to fame? Having no connections to anyone with the ability to give his talent a breakthrough, how was he able to rise to person he was today? What made Platinum, a company that had no interest in the music industry get involved with him? Find out all in this post.

A few years back when Drew was only fourteen, he was just the average teen you would find hanging out with his friends. Although he had never taken any singing or dancing classes, he was highly talented in both. It was at the time of one of the local talent competition in which one of his friends had encouraged him to enter. In one of his interviews, he admitted, "I was just hanging out with some of my friends one afternoon when we noticed a flyer advertising for a local talent competition. At first we were joking around about entering, it was around then I decided, 'hey, why not give it try?' Later after entering, my friend's words were what really encouraged me."

Although we have still yet to find out what those words were, most of us fans are very grateful towards his friend for let Drew share his talent with the world.

After a few weeks of preparing for the talent show, Drew had managed to pull together a his performance. Doing something he loved to do secretly in his spare time. Singing. Through practices and hardships, although he had managed to win second place at the talent competition, his talent wasn't left unnoticed.

Platinum is a well known company worth millions, but they were more involved with stocks and new technology. The idea that this company reaching out into the talent industry was a shock to many. Later Mrs. Shinji, co-owner of the company with her husband, claimed she was watching the talent competition at the night of the final round.

"The competition was a charity event the company was attending to," Mrs. Shinji admitted. "Our company supports the community, as do we strived to contribute to better future. When I had saw Drew's performance, I knew it was potential that was waiting to be shown to the rest of the world. Getting involved with the talent industry was worth the risk with his talent."

It was only a week later after the competition that Drew had signed a contract with Platinum and launched into his singing career. His first official performance with Platinum was at the opening of Solidad's tour of Hoenn. Fans were charmed by the new rising star, and since then Drew has been busy with tours, concerts, and events worldwide.

Starting from his first single "Just That Girl" to his most recent album "Roses", most of us fans have been supporting him with everything he does. And he's always there for us, too!

Anyways, that quickly sums up how our lovable Drew became the star he is today. Keep supporting him everyone! Let him continue to shine brightly!

#Drew Hayden #Drew #backstory #road to fame #Platinum #how it all started #talent competition

...

I finished reading the post and looked at Dawn.

"Why did you look this up?"

"I thought you could use some inspiration before the dance competition at the end of this month," Dawn explained. "Drew didn't join the talent show to win, but to show everyone how talented he was, it was for fun. Remember that when you practice or come up for a routine for the competition."

I nodded with a smile.

"Thanks, Dawn."

* * *

Did you guys see it coming? Melody was the mystery person after all. :) Looks like she's been meddling with the love life of people.

I threw in the blog post thing to show how Drew rose to fame. Hope you guys liked it. :)

Next chappie is going to be bonding time with May and Drew. I'll see you guys next time! :)

Thanks for reading and have an amazing day!

~Skitty13


	22. Chapter 22

Inspiration

Chapter 22

Welcome to another chappie of Inspiration! :)

_Reviews-_

_Ern Estine 13624: I know! I think everyone deserves a friend like Dawn. :D_

_LEGAL-EAGLE53: Anytime! ;) Yep! I have to agree with you there. I like your new pen name! Any reason behind it? :)_

_Magenta ruby: Thank you, thank you! :D I'm glad you like it! Enjoy! :)_

_FandomoFangirlin: So true! Melody's method of third wheeling while looking cool. Enjoy~! :)_

_KitKat Donut: Thanks for sticking around with my story! :)_

_TheNoyDJ: Thank you! I always wondered if the plot was going too slow sometimes, I'm glad you like it. :) Thanks!_

_SilverFox: Thanks! I know! Maybe it was fate for this to happen...hehe. Anyways, here's an update! Keep it real! ;)_

Ready to see some contestshipping from Drew's POV? :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Drew's POV

I drummed my fingers against the desk, waiting for the day to end. After asking out May at lunch, I had been planning some elaborate scheme of getting to know her. Especially since I knew there was something between us. Sure, there was definitely chemistry between the two of us when we had danced together at the Valentine's Day Dance, and I had seen her blush when we talked, but it never hurt to spend more time together.

Although most of my fans supported me in finding my Cinderella and were dying to know who it was, I wanted to get to know my Cinderella before sweeping her off her feet. Besides, I think May would appreciate the privacy. Iit would be hard, especially since I don't get much of that myself. I just hoped that my fame wouldn't ruin my chances with her.

Having math last period was the worst, since there was no way I was concentrating on the work in front of me. I could feel the occasional glance of fans sitting nearby, probably wondering what I was up to. Looking up at the clock that hung up on the wall, I could see there were only seconds until the bell would go. The problem was the seconds were going by extremely slowly. This waiting was painful.

The moment we were released by the bell for what seemed like forever, I immediately shoved everything into my bag so I could escape from the room. Giving a smile to the teacher before I left the room so I wouldn't appear rude, I made my way into the hallway. Hefting my bag higher up on my shoulder, I pulled out my phone to check the locker I was suppose wait by to find May. Making a detour to my own locker first, I could still sense the crowds shifting away to let me walk around freely. At least fame did have its perks.

"Hey, pop star."

I turned to see Jack at his locker with Vi standing nearby holding his bag.

"Hey basketball player. Hi, Vi," I greeted as I grabbed a textbook from my locker. "What's up with you guys?"

"I have another basketball practice since tomorrow's the city's semifinals," Jack answered, closing his locker with his good hand. His sprained one was wrapped up, giving it limited mobility. I really hoped he would be able to play in that condition.

"I have another meeting with the newspaper committee," Vi said, helping Jack get his backpack back on. "I'm also making sure he doesn't get hurt any worse than he already is."

Jack chuckled, throwing an arm over Vi's shoulders. "With you around, there's no way I could let myself get hurt." Looking back up at me, he then added, "Oh, don't you have a date with May right now?"

"Yeah," I agreed, shutting my own locker. "Any advice on what food to get her?"

"Anything's fine," Vi said thoughtfully. "Although she does have a sweet tooth… Either way, we should get going. Later Drew!"

Watching the two disappear into the crowds, I headed off in search of May's locker. By the time I got to it, I checked my phone again just to make sure I had the right one. Not that I needed to, since the brunette barreled into me when I pulled my phone out.

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" May exclaimed, brushing her bangs aside to look at me. Her eyes widen when she saw me. "Oh, Drew. Sorry I'm late. I got caught up talking to Dawn and Paul."

"Took you long enough," I said, crossing my arms. Seeing her panicked expression, I laughed. "I'm joking. I just got here myself, April."

"It's May," she corrected me, fumbling with her lock on her locker. Quickly tossing in a couple books, she slammed it shut and faced me once again. Her blue eyes darted around the hallway, and I could see the other people lingering around to watch us."Let's go grasshead. I don't like all the looks were getting here."

"Lead the way," I said, giving her the grand sweeping motion with my arms.

Giggling at my antics, May walked ahead as I followed her out of the school. I was distinctively able to catch the glare of a pink haired girl who had it aimed on May, and the name Brianna popped into my head. Brianna...right, the girl related to Dominique who had thing out for May. Surrounded by her clique, she looked almost predatory, ready to attack any innocent creature that passed by. The moment she spotted I was with May, her expression changed to surprise. I didn't know what she did next because by then, we were out of the school and on the way to my car.

"Ladies first," I exclaimed, opening the passenger side door for her. Hoping for a good impression, I made sure she was settled in before heading over to the driver's seat. Putting my keys in, I quickly checked my phone before tucking it out of sight. "So, is there any food you want in particular?"

"Hm?" May pulled her eyes away from the sticky note on the dashboard that read 'Keep it real, Drew!'. "I'll eat anything, really. So anything is fine." Her eyes narrowed playfully at me. "I hope you think twice before stealing my food like that again."

"Oh, I will," I said, nodding as I pulled out of the school parking lot. "I see you've noticed my encouragement sticky note from my manager, Eve. She thought being able to see my catchphrase would give me ideas of what to do next in my career."

"Is it working?" she asked.

"Honestly? I don't know. I mean, I've been struggling to find the right inspiration to keep things going, and I'm not sure anymore."

Out of all the the answers I could have given, I chose to the truth. Something about being around May made me want to tease her often, maybe it was because of her personality, but it also made me want to be honest around her. It just came out naturally.

"Inspiration," May murmured deep in thought. "Didn't you name your dance competition Inspiration?"

"Yep." Seeing we stopped at a red light, I turned to look over at her. "I think you know why now."

"The famous Drew Hayden doesn't have inspiration?" Her words were in mock-teasing tone, clearly surprised though. "I didn't think that was possible. Green light."

I stepped on the gas pedal. "Well, it is. I'm really hoping that by keeping it real, I'd be able to hit a struck of luck. I guess I did when I found you at the dance on Valentine's Day."

I could hear May giggling as I pulled into gated property I called home. Shifting the car into park, I flashed her a smile.

"Home sweet home. Come on," I said, heading out to the front door. Opening the door, I let May in before following her. Her eyes were wide as they darted around the room to take in the large living space I called home for the past month. "Big place, right? I'm still trying not to get lost."

"Yeah…" She turned to look at me, her electric blue eyes looking straight into my own green ones. "I thought you were going to get me food?"

"I am, except we're going to need to cook first," I explained. "What do want to make? I'll try my best to make it."

"You can cook?" May asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

"Not really," I said with a shrug, "but I'll try my best."

May laughed, her eyes sparkling. I don't know why she was, but I awkwardly smiled, waiting for her to say something.

"You know what, I'm in a mood for chocolate chip cookies," she declared. "Lead me to your kitchen. We can make them together, they're easy enough for even an amateur like you."

"Alright, let's do this," I exclaimed, leading her to the kitchen. Let's hope she knows what to do, because I had no idea.

…

"Okay, we leave them in the oven for ten to twelve minutes," May declared, clapping her hands together. She looked around the kitchen and laughed. "This place is a mess!"

I turned to take in the view as well. Flour was all around the kitchen and there were chocolate chips scattered across the counter. I think most of it was on my part, seeing May was trying her best to get me to make it properly. I guess working together like this was more fun than making them alone, because I don't remember the last time learning anything to be this amusing.

Picking up a chocolate chip, I raised it up ready to aim. "Hey, June, catch!"

When May opened her mouth, I tossed it and managed to get it in. Success! I reached over, high fiving her. Although amusement gleamed in her eyes, she had other ideas besides messing around in the kitchen until the cookies were done.

"We need to clean this all up," she declared. "If I were working with my mom, she'd get us cleaning this the moment it was created."

"Was your mom the caterer at the dinner party with the Dominique's the other night?"

May nodded, catching the cloth I threw at her to start the cleaning process. Putting it under some running water, she threw the cloth back at me only to receive another one.

"Her food was amazing, I'll have to keep her mind next time I throw a party," I said, wiping away all the evidence of flour being everywhere.

"Thanks," she said as she swept away all the stray chocolate chips into the garbage. "Mom would be proud to hear someone like you like her food."

Grinning to see her finally being able to relax into being around me, I reached over to twirl her. Giggling, May did a simple glide to wipe away some cookie dough. I mimicked her actions across from her and did the same. Through various dance moves around the kitchen with cloths, brooms and mops, we soon had the entire place cleaned up.

"You're a really good dancer," I commented, sitting down on a stool by the counter watching the cookies bake. Only two or three more minutes before they were done.

"Thanks, so are you," she replied as she took the seat next to me.

"Why'd you stop?"

Freezing in place, the brunette picked up her glass of water and took a sip. She was hesitant to answer my question but after a moment, she let out a sigh.

"You came after I had my cast removed, so I guess you wouldn't know." Her concentration was directed to the glass in front of her, as if it were the only thing of importance in the world. "It was during late November, there was a dance competition and…" A faraway look was clouded her eyes, and I didn't know what to say. "I was waiting in the back for my turn when I heard about a group of girls wanting to sabotage the competition. I went to confront them about it as they were setting it up for Brianna, but instead I received a sprained ankle and continuous hate from someone I managed to help. Competitions won through backstabbing isn't right. Shouldn't they be based off of individuals' talent?"

By the end of her story, her eyes were fiery with passion. Clearly she never lost her passion for dancing despite her friends' beliefs. I reached over to grab her hand in hopes to reassure her.

"Confession," she said quietly. "I didn't tell anyone else about this yet. I want to keep this to myself, so please don't tell my friends yet. I'll tell them eventually."

"Your secret is safe with me," I promised.

I leaned forward, and May look surprised but did the same, her eyes fluttering shut. Just as I was an inch away, the alarm went off ruining the moment. May's eyes flew open as she sheepishly ducked away to get the cookies.

This close encounter had to mean something. It obviously cleared away any doubt that clouded my mind before. After May set the cookies aside on the cooling rack, I decided to make my move.

"Confession," I declared. "I like you. A lot. Ever since I first met you."

"Confession," May responded, blushing. "I've liked you since I first heard you sing. So, I like you, too."

I smiled before leaning in to try again. Perhaps lack of inspiration was a good thing after all because now I found a source of inspiration.

* * *

Aww... contestshipping is adorable. :)

May finally told her story of why she quit dancing. Vaguely, but I'll probably mention again later with a flashback as well...

Things are getting interesting! With one problem slowly being dealt with, only... three more to go? Ah, I'll check again later.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chappie!

Thanks for reading and have a beautiful day!

~Skitty13


	23. Chapter 23

Inspiration

Chapter 23

Basketball pre-game time!

Things are going to get interesting this chapter. :) There's going to be a lot going on, so the basketball game is actually going to take two chappies, then the ending is in sight. Unbelievable, right?

_Reviews-_

_TheNoyDJ: Brianna is pretty evil in this story, haha. LOL. Yes! Contestshipping for the win. :) Thanks, and enjoy!_

_Nighttyger: Hehe, yup! Chocolate chip cookies only make the moment they shared so much sweeter. :3_

_Ern Estine 13624: Yup! Contestshipping is now a thing! :D Enjoy!_

_Wolf: Ah! I'm sorry! I don't think I'll be putting in soulsilvershipping in this story. I'll keep the shipping in mind if I write another story. :)_

_SilverFox: That is so true! Awww... of course! As long as you review, I'll reply. :) At least contestshipping is now a thing in this story! :D See if you can catch my movie reference in this chappie! ;D_

_LEGAL-EAGLE53: Ah, I see. It's nice, I like it. *thumbs up* Hehe, that's exactly what I was thinking while I was writing that scene! XD _

_LIAGIA-MAMA-MIA: Thank you! Update is here! Brianna doesn't know that May helped her, and May's pretty talented, so I would say she's jealous. ;P But let's see how things work out. :)_

_LaughingMangoes: Hehe, thanks! Finally, Drew has confessed to the girl that stole his heart since the dance. :D Took him long enough!_

_Dolphin02: Thank you! Ooh, did I not do that? I'll go back and check if I missed out anything, but yeah, most of the flashbacks unless spoken should be italicized. Enjoy the update! :)_

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspect of Pokémon

* * *

May's POV

"So?" Dawn asked, crossing her arms while giving me her tell me all the details and don't leave anything out look. "What happened between the two of you yesterday?"

Next to her, Misty also had a curious look, waiting for me to give the details. We were hanging around outside on the bleachers, and luckily there was no one around to hear our conversation. I even double checked to make sure so no rumors would start from this.

I blushed, thinking about what happened yesterday. Feeling flustered, I looked around for the missing member of our quartet of friends. "Where's Vi? I thought I saw her earlier today."

"Vi's busy watching over Jack," Dawn quickly explained with a wave of her hand. "They're probably making sure Jack's wrist healed properly. Anyways, so?"

No chances in delaying or postponing my explanation now, Dawn was too persistent sometimes. I took a deep breath in hopes of calming the butterflies that still fluttered in my stomach.

"Drew took me to his place in his car," I slowly said, remembering the details from yesterday. I could see Dawn's eyes sparkling from excitement in hearing all of this. "He has this note in his car with the words 'keep it real, Drew!' from his manager. It's kind of cute. We talked about why he decided to come back to Petalburg City and about dance competitions. At first, I had no idea what he was planning. I mean I know I he was going to get me food, but he didn't reveal his plan until we got to his house."

"Oh my goodness!" Dawn squealed. "You went to his house?! What happened next?"

"We made chocolate chip cookies," I said, chuckling at the memory of the mess we had left behind after putting them into the oven. "Drew cannot cook, but they turned out _really_ good."

"You're leaving something out," Misty pointed out. I guess everyone was right when they said nothing could get past Misty, like seriously, surprise parties are so hard to plan for her. Her eyes narrowed playfully. "Come on, you can tell us."

"He confessed to me and we kissed," I whispered. Immediately, Dawn let out an 'aww!' Being able to say that out loud was surreal, but it made me realize all of that wasn't just some dream. I covered by cheeks, as they quickly rose in temperature. "Drew's a really sweet and understanding person. We're not letting anyone know about our relationship yet until the competition is over and he even promised complete fairness in the dance competition. Everyone is going to have a fair chance and it'll purely based on talent." I paused, thinking back on the side comment Drew had added. "He also didn't want me to be attacked by his fangirls, you know, in case the word does get out."

"That's so sweet," Misty cooed.

Dawn clapped her hands together, her eyes practically gleaming with excitement. "Perfect! We all got together yesterday while you were busy with your date to get the boring paperwork done, so all you need to do now is get your routine ready!"

I sighed, but gave them a smile. I knew my friends would have my back. Especially since they wanted me to get back into dancing. Pulling together a routine couldn't be too hard, I had practiced and watched so many over the past years, I could start one on the spot.

"Thanks so much," I said, giving them both a hug in turn. "You're all the best."

"No prob!" Dawn replied, checking her phone. "You're coming with us to cheer on Jack at the basketball tournament right? It's tonight."

Unless we were busy, we all tried to make it out to support each other. I know for being a cheerleader, Dawn didn't have much of a choice, but she always did her best to get the crowd riled up for our school's teams. With the basketball team's success as of lately, it didn't take much to do so. Besides all of that, I think going was a good idea since we were going to need to pry Vi off of Jack to let him play.

"Yeah," I replied. "I think we're going to need to hold Vi back, but Jack's going to need all the support he can get. I'll see if I can get Drew to come, too."

Misty laughed. "True, but I heard Phoenix will be there, so he'll be like a buffer, hopefully things will go well."

"Everything will be fine," Dawn agreed, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. "I'm going to invite Paul as well. Anyways, I should get going. The cheer squad is going there together, and I need to review the routines we're doing while we're there. Later!"

I watched her leave before turning to look at Misty. "How are thing's going with you and Ash?"

Misty's face fell as a frown took over. Clearly, things weren't getting better.

"Awkward. Ash and I can't really seem to talk since that Melody incident," she explained. "We're going to need to do something soon. I don't know how much more I can take."

Throwing my arms around to give her a hug, I really hoped things would work out between the two of them.

"Things will work out," I reassured her firmly. Using all the hope I had for two of my closest friends to reconcile, I used my 'I believe in you!' look. "I know things will. Ash and you are meant to be, and if you still believe in that, fight for it."

"Okay."

I grinned.

"That's the Misty we all know and love!"

Vi's POV

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked. Sitting on the sofa watching Jack hurry around in preparation for the game, I tried not to let my concern bleed through my statement. Sadly, even I couldn't deny the worry that was voiced by my question.

It had barely been an hour since the compress was removed, and I refused to let Jack out of my range for too long in case another accident happened.

"Everything's fine."

Recognizing the voice, I turned towards them and narrowed my eyes.

"How would you know, Phoenix?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Jack was the one who was hurt."

Phoenix merely leaned against the wall with a bemused smile.

"He knows because that's what I've been trying to convince you of since I took it off," Jack replied, walking back into the room to drop off two water bottles into his bag. He and Phoenix shared a knowing look. "I'm more than willing to repeat myself to get this point across to you." Jack walked over to me and pressed a quick kiss to my temple. "Besides, the doctor mentioned I would only need to wear that for two to three days. It's been more than enough time, and it doesn't even hurt anymore."

I opened my mouth to protest but Phoenix cut in first.

"Jack's right, Vi. No matter what you try to say, you know that more than anyone else." Phoenix gave me a pointed look, immediately causing me to close my mouth.

He was right. Being twins with him at times like this really made me remember just how much Phoenix understood about me, even though we didn't spend every second with each other. It also reminded me how much I cared about Jack, which should be enough to trust him when he said everything was okay.

"Fine," I said with a pout. Seeing the boys exchange relieved looks, I stood up. "But I'm carrying your bag for you." I paused looking over at my twin. "And Phoenix is driving there."

Handing over his bag and tossing Phoenix the car keys, Jack then took a quick stride to my playful smirk and striking ice blue eyes held me captive. Phoenix seeing our position chuckled and left us alone. Not before calling out that he expected to see us in the car in the next two minutes.

"Anything else, Violet?"Jack asked quietly.

Although he tried to act serious and taunting, I knew he was just having his fun in hopes of calming his nerves before the big game. Perfect opportunities to play along with him.

"Would you like you good luck kiss now or later?" I asked, giving him my most charming smile.

That was enough to surprise Jack, enabling me to laugh and dart off with his bag.

"Later it is!" I declared, hurrying towards the front door.

"Vi, wait!"

Feeling my back pushed against the front door, I felt Jack kiss me as my eyes fluttered shut. It wasn't that long, but I could see Jack looking relieved as he grinned.

"Feeling lucky?" I asked, tilting my head curiously. I knew I didn't even need to voice my question, since he answered the exact same words every time.

"Much more than before."

Rolling my eyes at his response with a smile, I took off. Darting into the back of the car, I tried to catch my breath as Phoenix gave me a funny look and Jack slid into the passenger seat. With that, we headed off to the school that held the city semifinals in an uplifting mood. When I made eye contact with Jack, I tried my best to let my worries slip away.

He could do this.

When we arrived at the school, Jack was ushered off to the direction of the change rooms while Phoenix went ahead to meet up with everyone else. I tagged along with Jack, lingering around nearby the locker room. Offering smiles to the other players on the team that left the room, the most unexpected thing that happened was when I looked away and someone bopped me in the head.

"Benga!" I exclaimed, turning to look at the fiery haired guy. "Ready for your big game?"

"Of course," Benga replied, giving me a thumbs up. "We're going to make it to championships no sweat. Waiting for Jack?"

"Correct." I nodded with a smile. I dropped my voice a bit. "Do you think he's fine? You know, since he had hurt it?"

Benga reached over and rested his hand on my shoulder. The was a certain kind of warmth in his eyes as he spoke. "Jack's fine. Even with his good hand hurt, he's been practicing with his other hand. As a fellow teammate, I wouldn't let him play if he wasn't in his A game."

The doors to the change room opened, and Jack showed up. His gaze flickered at the both of us curiously.

"Remember to cheer me on, too, Vi!" Benga exclaimed with a wink my way. To Jack, he gave him a mock salute. "You're lucky to have such a caring girlfriend, Frost. I'll see you at the pregame pep talk."

I chuckled, seeing his usual behavior show through such a stressful time. Nice to know not everyone was freaking out. Feeling Jack wrap his arm around my shoulder, I leaned towards him and smiled.

"Everything okay?" he asked as we walked forwards.

"I should be the one asking you," I responded. "Are you okay?"

Ruffling my hair while I whined, Jack shook his head with a laugh.

"Better than okay. I have you and all our friends cheering me on. Everything will turn out fine," he reassured me. "I should get going."

I nodded, giving his hand one last squeeze. "Good luck! I can't wait to see you play."

Watching him disappear from sight from the hallway, I made my way to the entrance to of the gym. My eyes wandered around the gym, noticing the cheerleaders from our school stretching, although Dawn was lacking her presence. On the bleachers, I grinned when I saw Ash waving to me from his spot. Around him was everyone else, and even from where I was, I could see May sitting close to a guy with a baseball cap and fake glasses. I'm not sure the disguise was the best, but no seemed to notice yet.

"Hey guys," I greeted, taking the empty seat in front of them next to Phoenix. Leaning back, I nudged May's knee all while giving her and Drew a knowing look. "Who's your friend, May?"

"Nice to meet you," Drew said, going along with my act. "My name's Joey."

Smiling, I shook his hand and turned to May. "I take it there's an explanation to all of this?"

May leaned forward, whispering in case anyone else heard us. "Drew wanted to come cheer on Jack, but we didn't want anyone to realize that Drew Hayden was here in case it caused a riot of fans to show up." She smiled, reaching over to clasp their hands together which caused Drew to smile as well. "Besides, we can do this without being caught."

"So, is Jack ready for the game?" Ash asked, munching on some popcorn he had gotten.

"He says everything will be fine," I answered. I turned to look at the cheerleaders prepare before nudging Phoenix. "Have you seen Paul or Dawn?"

"They headed off somewhere together," he responded, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "I'm sure they'll be back soon enough."

I nodded, but they weren't my main concern when I spotted Melody, Brianna and Ursula along with their followers walking into the gym and take seats on the other side of the bleachers. Luckily it was as far as possible from us, but I knew something was bound to happen tonight. Whatever it was, I hoped Jack was right and everything would end up okay.

* * *

All we can do now is hope for the best! :)

Did anyone catch the movie reference made by Drew? Haha, it's kind of obvious, but I thought it would be funny. XD

Anyways, next chapter should have more Misty and Dawn since this one was mostly focused on May and Vi. *rubs hands together* Bring on the Melody drama and ikarishipping moments! :)

See you all in the next installment of Inspiration!

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

~Skitty13


	24. Chapter 24

Inspiration

Chapter 24

Okay! Basketball game time! Er... actually, I have no idea how basketball games work. So to make up for my lack of knowledge towards this sport, there will be plenty of drama instead! :D

Ooh, before I forget! For those who might not know, the actor in Another Cinderella Story is 'Drew' and his character is 'Joey' in movie. So in the previous chappie, I made Drew say his name was '_Joey'. _Cookies to those to got it! :)

_Reviews - _

_Dolphin02: Yep! She's definitely up to something... Let's see what it is! :D_

_Mirai Cheshire: Thank you! I hope you've been enjoying the story still. :)_

_Ern Estine 13624: Thanks! :) I hope you enjoy this update!_

_SilverFox: Hehe, you caught it! Aww...! Thank you! :) Really? I had no idea. Either way, I'm glad you like my story! Stay awesome as well! :D_

_jayfeather12345: Thanks! Another Cinderella Story, is awesome right? :D Yeah! You got it!_

_LEGAL-EAGLE53: Haha, yes Benga! :) I feel like he should more of an involvement just because he's that awesome... Maybe a future story. Did you get the reference? :)_

_HollyNinetales: Thank you! I hope you enjoy the ikarishipping in this story. :)_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Dawn's POV

"Okay girls!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together while giving everyone a bright smile to keep up the pep. "So those will be the routines we'll be performing during the game. The bus will be leaving in ten minutes, so don't be late!"

Everyone murmured their response before we all parted ways for the time being. I hung back, talking to the girls who wanted to check the details pregame. After finishing up that conversation, I immediately slipped away to get a breather.

"You okay?"

Immediately I looked up to see my favourite purple haired ice cube standing in front of me. Letting out a relieved sigh, I moved over and wrapped my arms around his torso. Slowly, I could feel Paul returning my hug.

"Just a little tired," I mumbled into his shoulder. Being held like this by Paul was comforting, and rare to say the least, so I might as well enjoy this while I could. Snuggling into his embrace, I closed my eyes for a moment. "It's been a long day, I just need to recharge for a moment."

I could feel the slight rumble of his chest as chuckled.

"If you need to recharge, shouldn't I go get you some food instead?" he asked, trying to get out of my arms.

"I just want to spend some time with you," I said. He wasn't going to escape me that easily. Tightening my hold, I shook my head and looked up at him with wide eyes. "Besides, I'm getting recharged off of you. You're a great energy source, Paul."

Paul looked away and shook his head, but I could see the faintest sign of a pink dusting his cheek. Aww...! To think most people believed he wasn't capable of being nice, I doubt my words would change their opinion, since he was only like this when I was around.

"Are you going to the game?" I asked, finally releasing him. As a response, he reached out and took my hand, intertwining our fingers as we made our way to the front of the school. I looked up and smiled at him. "I know as a cheerleader and a friend, Jack could use all the support he can get for this game."

"Hn."

At the sight of his poker face, I pouted. He wasn't planning on skipping out on all of us, was he?

"Paaaul," I said, dragging out his name. "You have to be there! Everyone is going to be there, we can't have you left out."

As the doors that lead out to the front door got closer, Paul pulled in close, his dark eyes looking into mine with a glimmer of amusement.

"Who said I wasn't going?"

Realization kicked in as I realized that he had purposely did that to get this reaction out of me. I scoffed, hitting his arm gently. "You were messing around with me!"

Paul chuckled once again, and leaned in to rest his forehead against me.

"You're cute when you're angry," he whispered. Leaning forward, we shared a kiss before Paul leaned back to add in, "I'm glad to have found you again." Straightening up, he shoved his hands in his pockets as if nothing had ever happened. "I'll see you later."

"Okay! Later, ice cube!" I called out, grinning. Watching him vanish down the hallway, I headed out to board the bus with my heart still fluttering.

Checking to make sure everyone on the squad on the bus, I let the bus driver know before we took off to the school where the match would be held. Various cheers were tossed around on the bus, and the reminder to stay hydrated.

The moment we arrived at the school, we were immediately directed to the gym where I could see the other school's cheer squad dressed in their white and navy uniforms stretching.

"Okay, everyone!" I called out, dropping my bag aside and search it for my water bottle. "Remember to stretch! We can't risk any injuries if the team's managed to get this far."

I peered into my bag, still unable to find my water bottle. I thought I had put it in there somewhere... Sighing, I grabbed a few coins and hurried in search of a vending machine. On my way out, I spotted Paul on his way to the bleachers and accidentally bumped into someone.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!"

Recognizing the voice, I resisted the urge to snap back as I straightened out my cheer uniform.

"Maybe you should be the one to watch where you're going, Ursula." I retorted, crossing my arms.

"Oh, Dee Dee," Ursula said, narrowing her eyes. Behind her, a group of her posse watched on amused. "Can't wait to see how bad the Birch cheer squad since I left."

I twitched, hearing that nickname I dreaded hearing. "The cheer squad has been flourishing under my lead. In fact, since you've challenged me, the bond between us all has increased exponentially. Our cheers have all been top form." Seeing her face fall, I internally cheered and kept going to find a vending machine. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get going."

I grinned, breezing past Ursula and her followers. They weren't going to hold me back, they were going to push me forward in showing how amazing our performance was going to be.

...

By the halfway point of the game, both teams were tied, neither being able to pull ahead. Our squad was able to get the crowds and players amped up, but it wasn't enough to give the team the pushed they needed from their fans.

I stood up, putting my hands on my hips. "Okay, girls! We're at the halfway point, so we'll be on a fifteen minute break. Everyone take this break to recharge, and we'll all be back in ten to work on another cheer, okay?"

A chorus of approval and 'okay!'s came back before everyone scattered. I did the same, spotting Paul seated beside Phoenix and immediately beelined towards him.

"Hey!" I greeted, taking the empty seat beside him. "Enjoying the game?"

Paul gave a half committed shrug yet nodded. "It's okay, I guess. Joey here seems to be into watching it, first time and all."

I paused, giving him a confused look. "Whose Joey?"

"That would be me," a guy immediately responded. Tipping his hat at me, I could see him holding hands with May. Peering at him more attentively, I recognized his unique green features hidden by his disguise. "Hi."

"Hi Joey," I greeted, amused by this facade he was trying to pull off. "I'm Dawn, pleasure to meet you." I leaned forward, giving him a quizzical look. "Have we met before? You look familiar."

"Seriously Dawn?" May asked, laughing.

I flashed her a smile before glancing around to look at the rest of the group. Vi was huddled next to Jack, caught up in their own little world together, and encouraging him to stay hydrated as I could hear bits of their conversation drift over.

"Drink lots of water," Vi said, handing over his water bottle. "You're doing great, is your wrist doing okay?"

"Perfectly fine," Jack answered, taking his bottle and ruffling her hair. "Stop worrying."

I smiled, moving gaze onwards see the missing presence of Misty and Ash. Reaching over Paul, I nudged Phoenix.

"Hey Phoenix? Where'd Misty and Ash go?"

"They went to go get some snacks," Phoenix answered, looking up from his phone. Seeing the surprised look on my face, he offered me a reassuring smile. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

I felt Paul take my hand, giving me a nod. "Phoenix is right."

I couldn't help but let my eyes flicker in the direction of the doors leading out of the gym. With the tension between the two of them, I wasn't sure what to expect with them off alone together. Paul gave my hand a squeeze, leaning down a bit to look into my eyes in wait of my response. Relaxing in my seat, I nodded while hoping that that they were right.

Misty's POV

Hearing the buzzer for the half time, I immediately looked up to see the score still tied. Murmurs filled the bleachers, fans being unsure how the results going to end up since neither team was getting the upper hand.

Looking around, I couldn't make myself turn Ash's way. I wanted to confront him about it, but I didn't know how to bring it up without sounding like a jealous girlfriend. Being near him like this without talking or something distracting us, I wasn't sure how much I could take anymore.

Abruptly, I stood up and announced, "I'm going to get some more snacks."

Sadly, as I was at the bottom of the bleachers trying to make a quick escape, I could just hear Ash exclaim that he was going to tag along with me. I mentally let out an annoyed sigh, seeing I wasn't able to face my problems or avoid them.

Leaving the gym, I went in search of the vending machine I saw earlier to get some chips. Making my way to the deserted hallway, I could hear footsteps approaching my way.

"Hey, Misty, wait up!"

I halted, shutting my eyes for a moment. Honestly, despite everything that has or might ever happen between the two of us, listening to Ash was a bit of a reflex. Much like using my mallet out on him when he did or say something ridiculous.

Taking a deep breath and bracing myself, I turned around while offering him a tight smile. "Yes, Ash?"

"I was wondering what you were planning to get." He didn't seem aware of my tension as he gave me his usual carefree happy grin. "I'm kind of in the mood for chips."

I almost laughed at how similarly we think, but the sound of another set of footsteps entered the empty corridor. The silhouette grew closer until I could finally recognize who it was.

"Ash," Melody said, flashing a sweet smile his way. When her smile briefly turned my way, I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. "I was wondering where you were. Hello, Misty."

I gave her an annoyed look and rolled my eyes to acknowledge her.

"Melody," Ash said, looking surprised to see her. "What's up?"

Walking over to Ash, she sidled up to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, I was wondering how our project was going?" she asked, leaning closer. "Are you having any trouble with your part?"

Although I knew it was a project they had to do for class, keeping it secretively like that… what was the point? I could feel my anger continue to simmer, slowly coming to a boil as I stayed silent.

"Everything is going fine on my part, I'm nearly done," Ash replied, completely oblivious to me and my feelings. "What about you? How's your part going?"

"Perfectly," Melody exclaimed, nodding. Her eyes flickered my way, and a smirk appeared on her face. "I've been enjoying my time with you -"

"Stop!" I shouted, raising my hands up to cover my ears. Seeing both sets of eyes on me, I lowered my hands and let the words that were caged up in my brain free. "I can't take this anymore! Ash, what's going on between you and Melody? Because lately, I'm starting to think you like being around her more than me. I know about your 'project' with her, but why can't you tell about it? Is there something you're hiding from me?"

When I was done, I could see my hands were trembling. My breathing was uneven and I could feel tears pricking my eyes. Being able to finally say what I wanted, the feeling of relief was in sight, but I couldn't let it take over before I had an answer.

Ash looked stunned by my outburst and I could see Melody merely watching the two of us.

"Misty," Ash said, moving away from Melody and towards me. I didn't know what to do, so I watched him take my shaking hands into his. "There's nothing going on between me and Melody, I can promise you that. We're only working together for a project that's due next week."

I tore my hands away, moving back. "You're lying, stop using the same excuse. I saw the message she sent you. How do you explain that?"

"I..." Ash trailed off, looking lost. He knew about the message I was talking about, and his hesitation confirmed my doubts about his actions.

I started to turn to walk away, when suddenly someone spoke up.

"What if I told you that I was trying to steal Ash from you?" Melody asked, causing me to freeze on the spot. I spun around to look at her, hands clenched into fists. The brunette merely smiled, crossing her arms. "At this rate, you'll be yesterday's news." Shocked by her words, Ash tried to speak up, but Melody stopped him. "Jealous that your boyfriend is spending more time with me?"

The satisfaction of her tone was infuriating, I had to resist my urge to pull out my mallet on her. No matter how much she deserved it at the moment.

"Jealous?" I repeated, staring straight into her eyes. "Who wouldn't be if their boyfriend was spending more time with someone else?!" I glanced over to see Ash with a soft smile on his face, and something was triggered in me. The two of us had been through alot, this was like another speed bump that we could get over and now that I knew it was because of Melody all along, not Ash, I had to act before this got worse. Moving over, I grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to me. "I don't care what you say anymore, Melody. This is between Ash and I, your interference won't ruin what we have."

"Misty..." Ash said, resting a hand on my shoulder. "I think I should probably explain this all to you. Melody's lying."

The sound of the loud buzzer from the gym announcing the continuation of the game echoed through the hallways startled me back into reality. Melody was lying? What was Ash talking about? I looked over at the brunette who smiled smugly.

"Someone finally caught onto my act," she said, tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder. "Your boyfriend's right though, I've been a little less than honest. Steal him from you? Please. I've been waiting for you guys to get together since high school started. I thought if I acted as competition, one of you would be more assertive, but I guess all it took was a camping trip."

"What?" I asked, disbelievingly. Surely I was hearing this wrong, the girl who been trying to get Ash from me had actually tried to get to us together? I turned to Ash, who looked surprised as well.

"You knew we liked each other?" he questioned her, cheeks slightly flushed. "This entire time?"

Melody nodded, as if it were the obvious thing in the world. "Took you guys forever to admit it to each other. Ugh, Vi was right about this. This method doesn't work that well."

"Vi knew about this?!" I demanded, eyes widening.

"Not really," Melody immediately responded to stop me from jumping to conclusions. "We work together for the school newspaper, and I often experiment around, she knows that much. She only knew I was going to test out your relationship, nothing more, nothing less."

Letting the pieces click into place, I pointed a finger at her. "You're the one writing anonymously for the love advice column, aren't you?"

"Correct," Melody agreed, "but let's not tell anyone that, I have an image to maintain." Her eyes turned to Ash, giving him a knowing look. "You have some explaining to do, I'll finish up the rest of the project so you can't spoil anything."

With that as her final statement, Melody strut back to the gym. The sounds of the basketball being dribbled and shoes squeaking reminded me that the game was still ongoing. Before I could head back, someone still owed me an explanation.

"So what was actually going on with you and Melody?" I asked, softening my tone. After being so harsh on Ash, I was starting to feel bad, especially since he didn't even know what was really going on.

"Melody and I are actually working on a project together for school due next week," Ash said. He scratched the back of his head, looking a little sheepish. "That part is true, I promise. While we were working on it, Melody reminded me that our one month mark was coming up and asked if I planned anything. As you know, I'm not really good with that stuff, so that's why we were being so secretive about this other project."

"You were doing this for me all along?" I asked, feeling touched.

Ash nodded, then pulled me back into a hug. "Sorry for the big misunderstanding. I didn't know Melody had this whole elaborate scheme planned up along with it."

"I don't think anyone knows about her plans." I wrapped my arms around him, feeling comforted. "Let's hope that celebration she plans for us turns out well…" I mumbled into his chest.

Ash laughed, before leaning down a bit to kiss my cheek.

"So are we all good now?"

I nodded. Right now, I was more sure than ever that the two of us could stick together no matter what.

The sound of a whistle and cheering filled the deserted hallways. I could just make out the sound of Dawn's cheers, meaning Birch was finally getting in the lead.

"Should we get back?" I asked.

Ash let go of me and looked around the hallway.

"Wait."

"...what?"

"We almost forgot to get some chips before going back!"

Cue the perfect moment to pull out my mallet once again.

* * *

Hehe, I like the ending to this chapter. I hope you guys liked it! :)

Ikarishipping fluff, Ursula drama, basketball game, Melody drama and pokeshipping fluff... That was a lot to cover. This chapter was much longer than my usual ones, but it still ended up kind of cliff hanger. Any guesses to how the basketball game went?

Things seem to be going well for everyone, but will they stay that way? O.o Hehe, I guess we'll just have to see!

Thanks for reading and have a wondrous day!

~Skitty13


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